Junas' Choice
by Erich Zann III
Summary: Amagi Miroku has finally fallen in love. His life is about to change drastically. Junas has also fallen in love, with Riko, no less. But he's afraid. The difference in their ages is so great. She's only fifteen. He's not even sure he knows how to have a healthy relationship. JunasxRiko, MirokuxOC, Lemon later on. Lesbian pairing as well. No like, no read. Other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Amagi-san… Amagi-san…"

The sound of her voice awoke me again today, and for what I had counted as the three hundredth day, I have lived with this woman whose name I do not yet even know. No, we aren't dating. We aren't even sleeping together, or anything of that nature.

Rather, about a year ago, I abandoned my plan to make a world of Psychicers, and thus, the WISE disbanded. Grana, and Dholaki, Vigo, and Junas, Caprico, and Shiner, all of them went their separate ways.

To explain the entire story of how I ended up with this strangest of women, who would take in a complete stranger with only the explanation that for some reason she trusted me, I could not begin to fathom. It's a long story, and I do not feel like going into it.

I looked at the clock. 0400h. Really? I understand that she likes to get up early to take a jog, then do her morning exercises, tidy up, and then have an early breakfast before going to work… But today is Saturday.

She didn't have to get me up this early. Yes, I even have a job, now. I somehow got work in a convenience store, stocking and unloading trucks. It's not a great job, but it passes the time. But today is my day off… Fuck getting up early.

"Oh, Amagi-saaaaan!" She said cheerfully, shaking me, and giggling. Even after almost a year, she still calls me Amagi-san… Of course, I can't call her anything. I never asked for her name, and I'm only here until I find somewhere else.

I don't plan to make a permanent residence of this. I have already overstayed my welcome, I'm sure of it. If she knew of my powers, she would kick me out anyway. If she knew who I was, she would surely try to kill me, or worse, turn me in.

"You're going to miss it!"

"Miss what!?" I snapped, sitting up in bed, and glaring at the naïve woman who thought I actually _wanted_ to awaken this early.

"The sunrise, silly. There's like, no clouds, today, and it's gorgeous out! No time to sleep!" She said, dragging me out of bed with a strength far too great for her diminutive size. She was a small woman, only 147.3 cm, and not even 40 kg.

I understood from her that she had been in martial arts since she could walk, but still, most women of her size capitalized on their cuteness, not brute strength, and yet, this one dragged me out of bed, and forced me into a standing position, while not even breaking a sweat.

I didn't deny that she was pretty, but she seemed either not to notice or not to care.

"Good, you're up! Now get some shoes on, or we'll miss the sunrise!" She said cheerfully, throwing a pair of sandals at me.

In the cool, September air, the starry early morning sky was crisp and easy to see through. I looked up in the sky and saw Venus. It was truly beautiful. I knew that we weren't alone in this universe, so why did I feel so isolated, so alone, so solitary? Sadness had never affected me until I started to know her. I wondered if there was a place for me in this world, though I knew that there wasn't.

"Excuse me, miss?" I asked. She looked at me, and smiled. It was the first time, I guess, that I had called her anything other than 'you'. It seems rude, but I was determined not to get close to her. But now, I wanted to know her name, if only for convenience's sake.

"I never asked your name… We've known each other for a year now, and you know mine. But I don't know yours."

"You don't? I thought you didn't call me by name because you didn't like me… Which leaves the question, why would you continue to live with me if you don't like me? Hnh… Well, I'm Ami Toshiaki… And… Is Miroku Amagi your real name?"

"Why would you think it wasn't?" I asked as we walked along together. She was a very casual woman. She didn't wear makeup, she didn't dye her hair, or curl it, or put it in elaborate hairstyles. Her clothes were comfortable and easy to put on.

She wore easy shoes that she could run in, and didn't worry about fashion. And yet, she was one of those women that were beautiful in her simplicity. I didn't understand what she saw in a monster like me, a sweet, innocent, naïve girl like her…

She had her nose buried in a book half the time, and was outside enjoying the fresh air the other half of the time. She went to martial arts lessons every day, where she was a third degree black belt (note to self: never make her angry).

But then, despite her insane skill in martial arts, she was so simple, so gentle. She smiled at the smallest things, and always seemed in a good mood. Not even my bad moods could get her down. And that was what worried me. Maybe there was something wrong with her. They do say to beware the wrath of the patient person.

She just shrugged. "I don't know. Just a hunch, I guess. You don't really need to tell me if you have a reason to hide it…" She said kindly. See? That's what I mean! She never got suspicious of me, despite how flimsy my story was…

I told her that I had recently come on hard times, and couldn't find a place to stay… So she invites me to stay 'as long as I need'! She doesn't ask any questions. She doesn't look even the slightest bit suspicious! "You aren't a mass murderer or a serial killer, are you? You know, on the lam?"

I laughed nervously at this. If only she knew how close she was to the truth, maybe she wouldn't say it so laughingly.

"I could tell you who I am… But I'm afraid you'd never come near me again…" I said sadly. At times like this, I can't believe that I was ever such a dangerous, monstrous person. I felt terrible guilt over the lives I had taken, over the things I had done, and over what I might have done.

"Isn't that better than living a lie?" She asked. I looked at her. She was genuinely confused. She was the type of honest person who would tell her mother and father that she was the one who stole from them with a straight face just because she was so wracked with guilt over it. I hated that type of person, and yet, I admired that quality in her.

"Okay. I don't actually have a name, if you can believe that. I was never given one. For most of my life, I was simply #06. Do you remember the Psychicer incidents from about two years ago?"

"Of course I do…"

"Well, I'm the one who orchestrated them. I was the one who started the battle at Oomori Pier that day. I am Grigori #06, Miroku Amagi. Do you understand what I am now? The world isn't such a nice place that you can invite a stranger into your home and expect nothing bad to happen…" I said, sounding malevolent and threatening as I could. She just laughed, though.

"You won't hurt me…" She said with confidence, surprising me. She looked hurt, but not scared, disappointed, but not terrified like most people were when they saw me. "I believe that everyone has the ability to change.

In the year that I've known you, you've never once shown me that you might be dangerous. I'm sad that you killed people like that, but… It was very brave of you to confess that to me… We're here. This is Shikibara Park. If we climb this hill, we'll be able to see the horizon perfectly.

Hurry up. The sky is already starting to turn gray and purple." She said to me, and she took my hand. Instead of taking hers, though, I grabbed her, and held her bridal style (don't ask me why, I won't tell you), and used my Rise to jump to the top of the hill in three bounds. She gasped and marveled as we practically flew through the air, and landed on top.

After that, I put her down, and sat down next to her. She looked at the horizon, and I followed her gaze. It was true; the sun was beginning to come up. Slowly, that bright white globe rose above the mountains, and bathed the world in its light, and, seeing it, emotions that I thought had been dead in me for over a decade began to rise to the surface, and I found tears flooding my eyes.

I couldn't believe it. I, the dread Miroku Amagi, the very incarnation of death and carnage that the entire country feared as the vilest terrorist in Japanese history was crying at the sight of the sunrise. Then, something that surprised me even more happened. Ami leaned over and took my hand, and kissed me.

That was the day that truly changed my life. Whether it changed for the better or not, I don't know. Is it good that I don't need my powers anymore? Maybe. Is it good that I have surrendered my soul to the greatest human weakness, love? Either way, I don't regret my decision, and being with Ami is the best thing that could have happened to me, and it all started at sunrise that day.

A/N: Okay, here's the deal. This story started out as a fluffy oneshot of fluffy fluff goodness. But, I kind of wanted to keep going, so… From now on, it's going to switch from first person to third person, and is going to add a few more pairings. Enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

(A/N: I know chapter one was crazy short, even for me, but the rest will probably be more substantial, and from here on, it's gonna be in third person… Just a heads up.

"Oh, Junas-nii!" Riko called out happily, running down the hallway with the mail. Junas looked up. He had been practicing sword forms. After all, even if he wasn't going to join Miroku Amagi, and take over the world, he needed to stay in top form to keep his psychic powers sharp.

One never knew when there might be a midnight home invasion, or when he would have to protect his beloved Riko…

 _Strike that last comment. I would not fall in love. Grigori experiments don't have feelings and those who do are useless trash…"_

"Hachiboshi-san… I've told you not to call me Junas-nii… The neighbors are getting suspicious of our relationship…" Junas sighed, though thinking about the fact that he might actually be in a relationship with Riko was kind of making him a little bit happy.

"First off, don't call me Hachiboshi-san! Call me Riko… We've been living together for ten years… Don't you feel _anything_ for me?" Riko asked, with a pouting look on her face. Junas sighed again. Of course he felt something for her.

He loved her like he had never loved anyone in his life. Of course, he _had_ never loved anyone else in his life. He was taken by Grigori at a very young age, and subjected to horrible experiments so that Japan could get its filthy hands on Psi.

"You are… A welcome companion…" Junas said. That was the understatement of the century. He loved her, and he knew that he couldn't deny it for too much longer. Riko was a clever girl. She would catch on sooner rather than later, especially if she used Trance type Psi to help her.

"I-is that all I am to you? A convenient someone t-to keep you company?"

"W-well…"

"Shut up! Don't talk to me! Take your stupid mail and leave me alone!" Riko cried, running out of the room in tears.

Junas sighed. She had grown up in many ways, but in so many others, she was still such a child… The kind of girl who would have a pouty fit if you hurt her feelings… But that was one of the things he liked about her. She was innocent, and gentle. She was guileless and… Perfect in every way.

He had the day off from the dojo where he ran Kendo, and Karate schools. Even considering that he had to pay the instructors, he still made pretty good money, and it wasn't even that hard a job. Riko had been going to both schools for years, and he was also teaching her how to fight with a katana, though he couldn't imagine many situations in which such a skill would be useful.

Still, the fact that her skill in Rise was also progressing significantly helped him to rest easily at night knowing that she would not likely be mugged, murdered, raped, or assaulted by some street trash… But then, Riko would be the least of their worries if they did.

He would personally hunt their asses down and teach them a lesson in manners that they would _never_ forget for as long as they lived. Any trash that did that to _his_ Riko would pay tenfold in flesh… He grinned sadistically at the thought, though he quickly banished such evil thoughts from his mind.

He tried not to indulge in such thinking anymore. After all, he was trying to be a normal, productive member of society, even if most people did consider him slightly unfriendly. Besides, he knew that he could never behave like that again as long as he was Riko's guardian. He would never want her to hate him or be afraid of him, and even more so, he would never want to lose her to the government.

"I shouldn't lie to Riko-chan. I know I love her more than anyone in the world. Why would I say something so heartless to her?" Junas sighed. Then, he picked up the mail from the floor, and flipped through the envelopes.

"Let's see… Bill, bill, Ponzi scheme, bill, invitation to… Oh shit… Miroku Amagi and some chick named Ami Toshiaki are getting married? And it's two weeks from now… Never thought I'd see the day… Riko-chan!" Junas called loudly, knowing that calling her that would cause her instantly to forget that she was supposed to be angry at him.

"Yes, Junas-nii?" Riko asked brightly. Junas looked away, as though looking at the camera, and smiled ironically. "See? Works every time…" He said, facing away from her and looking at his reflection in the window, almost as though he was talking to the studio audience.

"Who are you talking to, Nii-chan?"

"Nobody. We've been invited to Miroku Amagi's wedding. He's getting married to some broad named… Ami Toshiaki… It's in two weeks. We'll need to get nice clothes. Although you do look beautiful in your school uniform, you can't wear that to a wedding. And you _can't_ bring your drawing pad…" Junas added, seeing that she was about to ask about that.

"AWWWWWWW! Why not!? I thought you promised that you would never take away my drawing pad! It was Fayt that we met… Fayt! Fayt!" She cried loudly, forcing Junas to put a finger over her lips.

"You shouldn't shout, and don't bite your tongue when you say it.

It's fate. Not fayt. And I know you don't need to draw in order to control your Creator powers anymore. It used to be that it gave you migraines if you couldn't draw. But you've progressed well. Besides… Your teachers have been saying you need to pay attention, anyhow.

You'll be going into high school next year, and you need to pass an exam to do so." Junas said dispassionately, although secretly, he was very proud of Riko. He could never let her see anything but his usual cold personality, though…

 _Why? Why can't I let her see how much I care about her? We're living together, for God's sake. Maybe I can drop the ice, even if it's only for her._

 _You do it because you've been like this so long that you don't know any other way._

 _Besides… Why should you change? Maybe she should change to suit you._

 _No. It couldn't hurt to try to smile once in a while…_ Junas said, trying to force a smile to come to his rather stiff and gloomy face. Riko looked up slightly nervously, and tugged on Junas's shirt.

"Nii-chan? What's wrong? You in pain or something?" Riko asked. Junas sighed. Obviously, he wasn't meant to smile.

"No, Riko. I wondered what it would be like if I smiled… Obviously it wasn't pleasant for you or for me."

"Why would you try to smile when you aren't happy? You've never smiled before. Why would you start now? I like the Junas-nii that I have, now."

"Who says I'm not happy?" Junas asked. The truth was that he just seemed to lose the ability to smile after Grigori. Whether he was happy or not didn't matter. He always had a dangerous glare on his face

that scared everyone around him. It seemed like everyone could tell that he was truly a dangerous person.

"Well, if you aren't able to smile, then you're not really happy. People smile because they're happy, and when they're happy, they smile. The two go hand in hand, and so, when you finally become happy, you will smile, and I really hope that I'll be there when that happens…

I want to be there for all of Junas-nii's firsts!" Riko said sweetly, grabbing Junas's hands with both of hers, and looking determinedly into his eyes until she was sure that she had captured his attention completely.

She was initially planning to steal a kiss from him, but then, suddenly, he blushed, and Riko found herself completely unable to say a word. For a moment, she said nothing. But then, she began giggling madly, falling back several steps, grasping her chest, trying to breathe normally.

Finally, she managed to stop, and after she caught her breath, she smiled brightly.

"Oh my God! Junas-nii just blushed! Junas blushed!" She cried, falling to her laughter again. She wasn't sure why she thought this was so funny.

Perhaps it was because Junas was such a stoic person who never seemed to show any emotion at all, much less something as humorous as a blush.

"I-I did not blush!"

"Yes you did… *Gasp!* Junas-nii blushed…" She howled. But then stopped as quickly as she had started, and advanced on Junas again, grabbing his right hand with her left, and his shoulder with her other hand.

Junas was so shocked that he couldn't even mover when she moved her face toward his, and kissed him, closing her eyes, and taking his first kiss… Riko blushed lightly as she pulled away. It had been her first kiss, too.

Junas pushed her off of him, though, and turned away from her.

"Please don't do that again, Riko." He said, fighting back another blush, and adopting his usual scowl, although it was slightly softened this time.

"W-what?" Riko asked, feeling deeply hurt. He could have at least not complained. She didn't expect him to return the kiss, but the least he could have done was at least pretend that he wasn't resentful toward her about it. "W-why? I love you, Junas-nii!" Riko cried.

"Because I'm twice your age. I'm practically old enough to be your father. You're a beautiful young lady, Riko-chan. You should find someone your own age." Junas said, now feeling more like an old man disciplining his daughter.

He felt bad for yelling at Riko, especially since he loved her as well. But it was true. He was twice as old as she was. When he found her, she was four, and he was eighteen. He knew that he probably shouldn't be in love with such a young woman, especially since he had raised her from a child.

"But I…"

"No… This…"

At that moment, one of their neighbors walked in to their argument. Neither of them noticed him, though, and Riko kept on in full force. Junas couldn't deny that she was a force to be reckoned with. He was getting a little bit worried. He could feel her psionics flaring up. Most people wouldn't be able to feel it, but having lived with her for almost ten years, he could detect even the minutest changes in her moods.

"No! It's not the end of it!" Riko snapped angrily. "I don't care how old you are, or how young I am. I _know_ I love you, Junas-nii. There aren't any boys at school who understand me like you do. You know as well as I do that Psychicers are rare. How could anyone but you really understand me? And I swear, I'll never stop loving you, and I'll never stop trying to get you to love me!"

"Um… Perhaps I should come at a different time?" The man said nervously, slightly embarrassed to have walked in on this particular conversation, shifting uncomfortably and glancing around, silently promising himself that he would forget what he had just seen.

"No. Your timing is fine." Junas said dismissively, turning away from Riko, ending the conversation rather abruptly. Riko felt something heavy drop into her stomach, and she sighed miserably and slumped away to her room, tears already leaking from her eyes, her body already shaking.

"Um… I-is she going to be alright? I don't really know what went on between you two, but she looks pretty upset." Junas's neighbor said worriedly.

"She'll be fine. I'll go talk to her after this." Junas said, dismissing the man's concerns. "Now, what happened? If it's about the noise, I'm sorry. I promise, we'll keep it down in the future."

"No, no… It's nothing like that, Grigori-san. It's just that the entire apartment complex is getting together in Shikibara Park to celebrate one of the last really warm days of the year, and I just wanted to give you and Riko-chan your invitation, Grigori-san…

And don't be so hard on Riko-chan. I don't know much about your situation, but lots of little girls fall in love with their big brother." The man said kindly to Junas. Junas glared down at the man, causing him to gulp, shiver slightly, and back away. But then, the feeling of dread was gone almost as fast as it came.

"What gives you the impression that Riko is my younger sister?" Junas asked, truly wondering. It was at least known that he and she had different last names, and that they looked nothing alike, along with the fact that their personalities were almost complete opposites.

"Well… She calls you Junas-nii, doesn't she?" He asked quizzically.

"She does. But she is not my sister. We are not, in fact, related. We have simply been together since she was four. I found her, and took her in."

"I-I see… Well… I hope to see you two at the barbecue. I know you don't like to come out much, Grigori-san, but…"

"Junas."

"Sorry?" The man asked.

"My name. It's Junas. Please call me Junas." Junas said flatly. The man smiled cheerfully. This was actually the first time that Junas had been so open with anyone in their apartment complex, and to hear him asking someone to call him by his first name was extremely surprising.

"Y-yes… Junas-san. Please bring Riko-chan with you. We'd all be happy to see you. You're such a recluse. You should come out more, and make friends with your neighbors."

"Riko-chan…" Junas said, sobered, now, by what his neighbor had said. It didn't exactly fit his situation, but it made sense, now that the man had said it. He didn't even know that man's name, though he had seen him on occasion. He had simply never asked the man's name because he didn't care.

As he knocked on Riko's door, and walked in, he found Riko on her bed, still crying, and drawing pictures in her notebook. As always, they were extremely well done, and almost seemed alive. Even the art that she didn't imbue with her Psi seemed to take on a life of its own, and pop out of the page at its viewer.

Since elementary school, Riko's teachers had been highly impressed by how talented at art she was. She was good at other subjects as well, but art was easily her best. She did well in gym, partially because of her ability to use Rise.

Junas told her not to use it when she didn't absolutely need it, but she did on occasion. He was also training her in Rise so that she wouldn't need to use her Burst. She also had modest Trance, but her ability in that was poor, and so, the most she could do was use telepathy, and even then, only with people with whom she was in sight of.

She made friends easily at school, as people found her childish demeanor to be charming to say the least, and she had several male admirers, which drew the jealousy of much of the female population.

When she had told Junas that some of the girls in school didn't like her, he had told her that they were just jealous of her looks. He had seen her grow, and knew that she was extremely beautiful, and extremely charming on a deep, almost unconscious level.

She had the sort of personal magnetism that he equated to some of the greatest leaders in history, including Miroku Amgi himself. However, unlike him, her innocent personality was what drew people to her, rather than her ultimate confidence.

Riko sniffed miserably, and looked at Junas, who was shocked to see her eyes red and puffy with tears. He had never really seen her cry before. She was such a happy child.

"Yes, Junas-nii? D-did you come just to yell at me again? I won't take back what I said…"

"No. I-I came to apologize. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm…" He gritted his teeth. This wasn't the kind of thing he usually did, so the mere fact that he was doing it said a lot about what he thought of Riko.

"I'm flattered that you think so highly of me… I'm not a person to admire, though. I've done a lot of horrible things. I've stolen, I've killed people… The very nature of my Psi is proof enough that I'm a dangerous man. I…"

"I don't care. Whatever you've done, whoever you were in the past, that isn't who you are, now. Now, you're the brave, strong, wonderful man that I love. If you don't love me back, that's fine, but I still love you."

"It would be bad for me to love you, Riko-chan…" Junas said, not actually denying that he loved her, for he did, and he couldn't bring himself to say that he didn't… Couldn't bring himself to lie to the woman he loved.

"W-what does that even mean? I'm fourteen. I'll be fifteen in less than a month. I'm old enough to know who and what I want." Riko said, still on the verge of tears. Junas sighed, and leaned over, kissing Riko on the cheek gently.

"Give it another three years… That's…" He looked at his watch. "Until September 29th, 2022, your eighteenth birthday. If you still love me then, I promise I'll give you an acceptable answer, then." Junas said, ruffling Riko's hair, standing, and walking out of the room, leaving Riko slightly confused as to what he had actually said.

Junas sighed, and walked into his therapist's office. He had an appointment that day, anyhow. He was just a little bit early. Maybe he could take Junas early, his therapist, that was. God only knew that Junas was screwed up in the head.

He needed all the help he could get just to keep his occasional homicidal urges in check. Even ten years after he had been done with all that WISE business, he still felt murderous urges at times.

He had told his therapist the truth, about Grigori, and the experiments that had been run on him. Once he used his God Blade to slice one of his therapist's books in half, making it look more like he just did it with thin air, the therapist had much less trouble believing it than one might think, especially since all of that business with Miroku Amagi had happened all those years ago.

"Oh… Junas-san… You're early today. Well, my last appointment cancelled, so I can take you a bit before schedule. What's on your mind?" The man asked politely, leading Junas into the room, and shutting the door behind them.

"It's about the girl I'm living with…" Junas said, gritting his teeth.

"You're living with a woman? How nice. When did this happen?"

"It'll be ten years on September 29th." Junas replied in his usual flat, emotionless tone.

"Is something going wrong? Are you having relationship troubles?" The therapist asked. Junas flinched. Even he had trouble believing that he could ever have loved anyone.

"Yes. I'm falling in love with her." Junas continued. The therapist looked surprised, but not because Junas said he was falling in love, but because the therapist naturally assumed that if he was living with a woman, that he would already be in love with her.

"I'm… Afraid I don't understand, Junas-san. The _problem_ is that you're falling in love with her?"

"I guess it would be better to start from the beginning, wouldn't it?" Junas asked, merely stating the obvious.

"It always seems to be for the best, Junas-san." the therapist said uncertainly.

"Ten years ago, as you know, I was involved with the WISE conspiracy. One of the people we were supposed to pick up was a child named Riko Hachiboshi.

"She was an orphan in the orphanage that Miroku Amagi used to reside in, but it had closed down, and they were moving the orphans to different places. I went to pick her up, and we've been close ever since. After WISE was disbanded, we moved in together. I really only intended ever to be her caretaker, as I suppose I had become fond of her. She's fourteen, now… Well, fifteen on September 29th."

"So, you've lived together for ten years, and you've found that you've developed feelings for this girl?" The therapist asked with interest.

He was more interested than usual, because Junas wasn't usually so forthcoming with personal information. He had been state mandated to go to therapy because he got into a fight with someone and nearly killed him. Some boys had been sexually harassing Riko when she was ten, and Junas brought a bokken and nearly killed the boy.

Riko had been appalled by his attack on the boys. She refused to talk to him for over a week. She was grateful that they weren't grabbing her ass anymore or demanding that she pull her skirt down. But she had never wanted to hurt them, or for anyone else to hurt them.

She was under the mistaken impression that if she ignored them, they would leave her alone. Junas knew better. Riko was beautiful even back then, and he knew that if she didn't stand up for herself, the sexual harassment would only get worse. He had been teaching her kendo and other sword styles for at least four years by then. But he began teaching her unarmed combat as well after that incident.

The only thing that kept him out of prison was that he promised to attend therapy until the therapist deemed him safe. That didn't mean that he had to tell the therapist anything about himself, though, and over the five years that he had been seeing him, he had barely gotten the basics out of Junas.

Junas wasn't a trusting man by nature, and it took a while before he revealed anything about his past. The thing about Junas's past, though, was that it was complex, and the story required a fair amount of information to make any sense.

So that was how the therapist got Junas's history out of him. But for Junas to openly offer such personal information about himself was a real breakthrough. Even his therapist found Junas to be extremely hard to talk to, and quickly found that Junas took a fair amount of enjoyment out of inflicting pain upon others.

"Yeah." Junas said, blushing again. The therapist noticed the change in expression, and the embarrassed blush, and made a note of it.

"So? What should I do? You're the man with all the answers…" Junas demanded expectantly. The therapist sighed and shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you what you should do. You've been seeing me for five years. You should know as well as anyone that the fact that I'm a counselor doesn't mean I have all the answers. My job isn't to give you the answers. It's to help you find the answers for yourself. I can't tell you what you should do. Have you done anything about it already, or attempted to do so?"

"Yes. I'm afraid I lost my temper with her today." Junas said, actually looking regretful. The therapist made a note of this, too.

"Was it a physical altercation?" The therapist asked, slightly worried, now, knowing Junas's unfortunate propensity for violence.

"What!? No…!" Junas snapped, suddenly looking shocked that his therapist would even suggest that he could hurt Riko. "I couldn't raise a hand to her if I wanted to. I love her too much. Besides. She's fourteen. She's just a kid. How could I possibly hurt someone so much younger than me, Yoshimiya?"

The therapist looked levelly at Junas. His feelings for Riko seemed to be causing great change in him, but also a fair amount of confusion and pain. He seemed conflicted over his strong feelings that Yoshimiya gathered Junas had never felt like that before. He was convinced that he loved Riko, but confused about being in love with someone so much younger than he was.

"Well, I'd like to draw attention to two things. First of all, I'm impressed that you've made so much progress. You've come a long way from when I first met you. Second, I'm happy that you have someone who means so much to you.

"Man or woman, adult or child, a companion can often be the catalyst for a change that one could never hope to reach on their own. So, what did happen?" Yoshimiya asked, leaning in politely in interest. Junas suddenly remembered what happened, and turned a strange shade of crimson, and turned away from Yoshimiya.

"And nothing. I haven't told her a thing about how I feel yet." Junas snapped, hoping that the conversation would end. Yoshimiya continued, though.

"Have you not spoken up because she doesn't feel the same way, or because you don't know and don't wish to jeopardize your current relationship with her?"

"N-no… Never mind…"

"I can't help you if you aren't willing to trust me." Yoshimiya said.

"Rrgg… It's… embarrassing… I'm not used to being so emotional…"

"That's why it's important to work through the emotions that you do have so that they don't overwhelm you. People whose emotions overwhelm them often do things they later regret."

"Sh-she confessed to me… I told her she was too young, though… For God's sake! She's only fourteen… Well, she'll be fifteen on the 29th of September. I told her that I'd give her an answer when she turned eighteen. I told her that she should date someone her own age. She got mad at me, and stormed off to her room."

"I'm impressed. You behaved very responsibly. You didn't lie to her, or make a promise you couldn't keep, and you encouraged her to behave responsibly as well. May I ask what her name is? If only because it will be easier to talk about her."

"Riko Hachiboshi…" Junas sighed, seemingly lost in a daydream.

"What a pretty name. Did you make up that name for her, or is that her real name?" Yoshimiya asked. Junas nodded.

"It's her real name, or at least it's the name she has always gone by."

"Okay. And did you come here so you wouldn't have to be around her for the moment?" Yoshimiya asked, continuing to focus on Riko.

"Yes. I felt uncomfortable in the apartment at the time. I just hope she isn't back there touching my swords. I trust her with them, but I've told her not to touch then when I'm not around."

"Have you considered locking them up, or putting them out of her reach?"

"She could pick the lock, and she can use telekinesis. Neither trick would work."

"Do you trust her enough to believe that if you told her not to touch them while you're away, that she wouldn't?"

"Yes. But she's a curious girl, so I worry sometimes. You see, all my swords are extremely sharp, very well made, and extremely expensive. I wouldn't want her to hurt herself, damage something in the apartment, or damage the blade."

"Have you trained her with swords?" Yoshimiya asked, knowing that Junas had received extensive training in Japanese sword fighting."

"Yes. However, the heaviest blade she's ever used was a suburito, and it doesn't have the same weight, or balance as an actual katana."

"Well, it's probably good that she doesn't know how to use a real blade. Most people in modern day Japan have no need for such skills. Perhaps you should take her to dueling classes instead, you know? With foils and sabers? That has its own charm to it."

"I could train her in that art, myself."

"Great. But, we're out of time for today, so I'll see you next week, same time?" Yoshimiya said, slightly disappointed that they had to end so soon. Of all his patients, Junas had been the most interesting, if also the most difficult to get through to, or perhaps it was because he was so difficult to reach that he found him so fascinating.

"You know I'll be there. Can't afford to go to jail." Junas said with a scowl.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Riko sighed as she stood around in Shikibara Park. She had gone with Junas to the party, if indeed it could even be called that. It really just seemed like a small gathering of the people in their apartment building. She occasionally caught some boys passing glances at her. She always tried to smile back at them, but it was hard.

She was still slightly depressed that Junas had demanded that she wait until she was eighteen to get an answer to her confession. How was she supposed to wait three whole years to get an answer from her beloved? She was an adult.

Whatever his answer, she was old enough to take it. It wasn't like she was going to break if he rejected her. She tried telling him as much, but he only told her that she was still young, and that while she was technically considered an adult by Japanese law, she still wasn't even out of high school yet.

So with that, she decided that she would take his advice, and try dating other people. It didn't really matter terribly much who it was, as it was really only for show… Only so that Junas couldn't complain that she hadn't even tried to see things from another perspective.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her daze by a girl about her own age tapping her on her shoulder. Riko started, but turned around, and looked at the girl. She must have looked slightly fazed, because the girl frowned, and tilted her head to the side. The first thing that Riko noticed was that this girl had to be a foreigner.

Her hair was stark white, and her eyes were the palest shade of blue that Riko had ever seen. Not only that, but the girl was paler than anyone Riko had ever seen in her life. Her English teacher was American, and even he wasn't that pale.

In fact, he usually had a slight tan, but this girl, Riko could tell, was used to being inside, partially because of how ghostly pale her skin was, but also because she was terribly flushed, and looked slightly uncomfortable in the bright sun. Riko sighed, and tried to smile at this girl.

"Here. Drink this. I haven't opened it, yet. You look like you're about to pass out from the heat."

"Ah! Th-thank you…" The girl gasped, taking the bottle gratefully, snapping the cap open, and drinking from it like she hadn't had a drop to drink in days.

"Sorry for my appearance. I must look quite a fright…" She said in choppy, heavily accented Japanese. Riko took a moment to gather together what she had said.

"No, it's not a problem. But, are you alright? You look like a ghost, or maybe a vampire."

"Oh, no. I'm nothing that interesting. I'm just albino. I had to put on heavy suntan lotion just to be outside on such a day, and I'm already feeling it, as you can see…" The girl said politely, picking up the parasol that she had put on the ground, and opening it, holding it against the sun, sighing in relief.

"I know I must look terribly strange in a full length dress like this." She said. It was true. Riko had never seen anyone dress quite so formally. Not only was she in a full length dress, but it looked like she favored Victorian style clothing. Even her glasses were small and round, with silver frames so that she looked like a young Victorian woman.

"I see the way you look at my clothes. I only wear Victorian style because I don't like the way other full length dresses look. I can only wear short sleeves on cloudy days, and as today is, as you can see, quite sunny; I need this to keep me from burning up."

"What is albino? You said you were albino. I'm afraid I've never heard the term." Riko asked, trying not to sound rude.

"Oh. It's a congenital disorder that causes the subject to lack pigment in their skin, hair, or eyes. These glasses are actually just for show. I thought they went well with the dress. I actually have 20/20 vision, but need mirrored contacts to protect my eyes. I could wear sun glasses. But I never liked the way they look, especially in combo with this dress."

"Ouch. That sounds awful. You have such a heavy accent, though. What country are you from?" Riko asked, not wanting to offend this girl who had deigned to talk to her.

"Oh… I'm from England initially. We moved here because my father's job sent him here."

"Oh! I haven't gotten your name, yet. I'm Riko Hachiboshi! It's nice to meet you…"

"Lovely to meet you, as well, Miss Hachiboshi…" The girl said, pushing her glasses up her nose, as they had slid quite far down. "My name is Lucy Fleet… Nobody in Japan has been able to pronounce my name correctly. Everyone seems to have trouble with the 'L's'." Lucy said with a disgruntled sigh."

"Well, there is no 'L' in the Japanese language. It isn't that we lack the concept of an 'L'. It's simply that we don't have one in our language, and thus, most Japanese people have trouble pronouncing the 'L'."

"I wondered about that. How could any language lack an 'L'? It's one of the most commonly used letters in the English language… That's why it's one of the first letters someone calls on Wheel of Fortune."

"What is Wheel of Fortune?" Riko asked, raising an eyebrow. Lucy laughed at the confused look on Riko's face, and then explained. "It's just a game show. To explain it would take a while, so I think I'll refrain from doing so. Where is your father? I heard that he was a real recluse, and probably wouldn't even be here."

"I don't have a father. I have Junas-nii, though. Would you like to meet him?" Riko asked excitedly. Lucy nodded, but stopped Riko before she could run off to Junas.

"Before we go, I wanted to know if we could hang out next weekend. I've seen you around the apartment once or twice, but never really had the courage to talk to you. You're so pretty, and… Well, people are usually a bit… Disconcerted by my appearance."

"Why would you care what people think? If they're even worth getting to know, then they wouldn't judge you based on your appearance, and if they do, then they wouldn't make good friends, anyway." Riko said, brushing her hair out of her face.

It had gotten a bit long. She would need to get it cut soon. Doing this, she exposed the scar on her forehead. Lucy gasped upon seeing this, and reached out, brushing her fingers against it.

"Wow! What a pretty birthmark! It's just like a star!"

"Yeah. People always tell me that it looks like a star. It's not a birthmark, though. I got it when I fell down a small cliff and hit my head. But to Junas-nii. I'm sure he'd be glad to meet you." Riko said, grabbing Lucy's hand, finding it to be extremely soft, and light.

It almost felt like it was just paper, or fabric, and had no actual substance to it. But Riko ran toward Junas, and rammed him in the back, sending him jolting forward. Junas sighed and turned around to see Riko with a friend.

"Hey, Riko-chan…" He said, his typical glare not changing a bit. Lucy shivered in his presence, feeling slightly disconcerted, like ice cold pins were stabbing every inch of her body. Granted, he was good looking, but he seemed scary, like the kind of man who could slice someone in half and not bat an eyelash… She was closer to the truth than she was ever likely to find out.

"Hey, Junas-nii! This is Lucy Fleet! She's from England."

"Hello, Miss Fleet…" He said, pronouncing the 'L' perfectly. Lucy gasped, and Junas started.

"Did I pronounce your name incorrectly? I'm not Japanese by birth, but I've been speaking it for so long that my English may be slightly off. Lucy Fleet, huh? Is one of your parents Welsh?" He asked, leaning in, noticing that she spoke with an English accent that had a tinge of Welsh in it.

"U-um… Y-yes… My father is Welsh. I was born in England, though… I do spend a fair amount of time in Wales, though." Lucy said politely, curtsying to Junas. Junas was taken aback slightly by how polite and formal Lucy was, both in dress and manners.

"Your friend is very polite. She doesn't look well, though. Hold on. I carry a small first aid kit around." Junas said dispassionately, reaching into his bag, and pulling out a onetime use ice pack, which he squeezed. Riko heard it pop. Then, he shook it, and handed it to Lucy.

"I'm familiar with your condition, Miss Fleet. You should sit down over there under that tree, and put this on your forehead. You don't want to overheat." Junas said, holding the pack out until Lucy took it gratefully, and walked over to the tree, sitting down and applying the pack to her forehead.

"You know, Junas-san… For her brother, you don't look very much like her." Lucy said suspiciously. Junas rolled his eyes.

"That's because we are not related by blood, Miss Fleet. I found her when she was approximately four years old, and took her in. That is a story for a different time, though. Riko-chan will stay with you to make sure you're alright. I have to go… fraternize…" Junas said with a shudder. Lucy cocked her head to the left, seeing his unpleasant reaction. But he walked off almost immediately.

"Your father is kind of an… What is the word?" Lucy asked, reverting to English. Her Japanese still wasn't fluent, though she was becoming better by the day.

"Naikou? Would that be the word for him? Introvert?" Lucy asked, putting a finger on her chin to think. "I think that's the correct term."

"You can speak in English. I'm actually fluent. Junas-nii was American before he came to Japan, so he's fluent in English, and has taught me for years. Plus, most Japanese students, by this time, can at least speak passably in English…" Riko said in English to prove her point. Lucy sighed in relief.

"Such a relief." She replied in English. "Japanese is such a hard language to learn."

"To the Japanese, English is hard to learn. It has so many intricacies and exceptions. I mean… 'I' before 'E' except after 'C', and when sounded like 'A', as in 'Neighbor', and 'Weigh'. How does that make sense?" Riko asked, sighing. Lucy giggled at this, and smiled.

"It's true. English is a complex language. But that's because England has been invaded by everyone and his brother in the past. The Romans, the Germanic tribes, barbarian tribes… It's mostly Romantic and Germanic in nature, but there are more exceptions due to the tendency to 'borrow' words and rules from other languages."

"Ahaha…" Lucy laughed, wheezing slightly, seeming terribly fragile and weak in that moment.

"Lucy… Are you sure you're alright? I obviously know where you live. Surely, your father would let you go home to rest?"

"N-no… I'm not as weak as I seem. My father already worries too much about me. I already had to yank his leg to get him to allow me to come with him… 'Oh, Lucy, you know it's too hot. The sun is too bright. You're too fragile to be out on such a sunny day… But he doesn't know the real me. He has no idea what I can do."

"Yeah? What can you do?" Riko asked with a nervous smile.

 _I can do this. Surely, you can hear me. I felt your Psi as soon as I saw you. I'm mainly proficient with Trance type, but I can perform Rise nominally, but I really only use it to make up for my frailty of body. What 'type' are you, Riko-chan?_ Lucy asked, keeping her polite tone, even as she used a more familiar name.

 _I'm mostly Burst, but Junas-nii has taught me to use Rise. I can use Trance, but it's weak at best. Junas-nii is a Burst and Rise user like me._

 _How fascinating. In my whole life, I've never met a single other user of Psi. I was beginning to fear that I was alone in my ability. I knew that was ridiculous, but I got worried._

 _No. I have friends who are Psi users as well… Well, some of them, I should probably consider enemies, but they're the nicest enemies I've ever met. I'll ask Junas-nii if I can seek them out._

 _You seem very fond of Mr. Junas. Is he your lover, or something?_ Lucy asked interestedly. Riko blushed heavily, and shook her head.

 _No. He's… My guardian. He took me in years ago when I was just a little girl, and he's been there for me ever since._

 _Then, would you be averse to going on a date with me sometime?_ Lucy asked, surprising Riko with how forward Lucy was being all of a sudden.

She had seen Lucy's eccentricity, especially in the way she dressed, but she hadn't realized that she was a lesbian. It didn't really bother Riko, and she was supposed to be 'dating someone her own age' anyway. He hadn't said whether it should be a boy or a girl.

 _Sure. Sounds like fun… I've actually never been on a date before…_ Riko said in her mind. She heard Lucy giggle in her mind.

 _Really? A girl as beautiful as you has never had a date before? I find that hard to believe… Is it just that there are no other girls like you at school?_

Riko found it hard to answer this question. Especially since she didn't consider herself even remotely lesbian. She had no problem with lesbians, and, in fact there were several in her school. She just never identified with them.

 _No. It's not that. It's hard to say. I've just never found myself interested in anyone at school._

 _Well, having high standards isn't bad. Perhaps we can have our date next Saturday._

"You agreed to a _date_ with Lucy?" Junas asked, seeing that Riko had changed into a fairly nice outfit, and seemed about ready to walk out the door. Saturday night had come, and Riko had been anxious all week. She had never been on a date before, and she didn't even know what she was supposed to do on one.

She had looked up 'going on a date' on the internet, and it had given her some common activities, but they all seemed so terribly trite that Riko felt she would look stupid if she suggested them.

"Yes. You told me I should try going out with someone my own age. I figured it didn't really matter whether my first date was a boy or a girl, since the longest my relationship would last is three years. I've already told you, Junas-nii. I plan to marry you."

"Okay. Just be careful. You know how the creeps come out at night. You may be able to handle yourself, but I can't say the same for her." Junas said, just as Lucy walked in, so she only heard his last sentence.

"Hey! I may not look like much, Mister, but I'm not completely helpless." Lucy snapped. Junas merely waved her off, though, nodding.

"Whatever. Don't be out too late, and if you do anything improper to Riko-chan, know that I'll be sure to enact horrible, bloody vengeance on you…" Junas growled with a wildly sadistic smirk, causing Lucy to shudder.

"Oh, Junas-nii… You know Lucy-chan won't do anything to me. See ya later!" Riko said cheerfully, privately thinking that even if Lucy wanted to do something, she probably would be physically incapable, but taking Lucy's hand and leading her out the door, closing it behind her.

"Don't take Junas-nii too seriously. He worries too much about me. He knows I can handle myself. You look really pretty tonight. Do you always wear Victorian attire?" Riko asked hurriedly, rushing to the elevator that took them down to the foyer. Lucy nodded, already out of breath merely from the rushed walk that they were doing.

"Riko-chan… You can… Go ahead of me. I-I'll catch up in a minute…" Lucy gasped, barely able to stand, now. Riko sighed, and began to utilize a nominal amount of Rise, and she hefted Lucy onto her back and ran the rest of the way down the hall and to the elevator. Riko walked into the elevator with Lucy on her back, and then put her down, pushing the lobby button, and watching as the door closed.

"I… Hope you don't get mad at me for this, Riko-chan…" Lucy said quietly. Riko shook her head cheerfully.

"Glad to help…"

"No. Not that. This…" Lucy said, leaning against Riko and kissing her.

"Sorry. I-I couldn't help it."

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'wait until the third date'?" Riko asked playfully. Lucy laughed.

"Yeah. I think that only counts for straight couples, though, to discourage women from 'giving it up' too easily. But I won't do it again, if you would prefer."

"No… It's fine…" Riko said, kissing Lucy back, making it a deeper kiss this time, until Lucy was forced to pull away to catch her breath again, feeling slightly dizzy.

She had already run more than she was used to needing to do.

"Alright. Did you have a plan for tonight?" Riko asked as the two walked out of the elevator, and out the front doors, holding hands, passing an elderly woman, who looked at them distastefully.

"Not really. Maybe we could just go to the movies. Did you already eat?" Lucy asked. Riko shook her head.

"No. But I know this great ramen bar that we can go to." Riko replied, pulling Lucy along, advising her to activate her Rise, as she would need to have the extra endurance.

Together, the two girls ran all the way to the ramen bar, and walked in. When Riko got in, she stopped dead in her tracks. Four of Junas's enemies were sitting right at the bar, eating ramen.

"Oh, my God! It's Yoshmo, Amaya, the Lion Man, and Matsugi…"

"You know some of the people here?"

"Yeah… And right next to them are the Tenjuin brats. They're older than I remember them, but I couldn't mistake them. Oh shit! The blue haired woman is looking this way." 

"Hey, Matsuri-sensei? That girl over there is staring at us. Do you recognize her?" Amamiya asked uncertainly. She felt a strange sense of déjà vu when she saw the girl, but she couldn't place her face. Kagetora looked over, and gasped.

"No way… That's the little girl that the sword freak kidnapped ten years ago from the orphanage. Ageha. Don't you recognize her?"

"Oh, yeah. We're not gonna have to fight, are we? I'm tired, and I'm not in the mood for a battle.

"Hey, little girl! You guys can pull up a stool if you want to, but I'm not really in the mood now for a fight!" Ageha yelled out, causing Sakurako to punch him in the side.

"You know, Ageha, even after all these years, you're still such a child… And yet, that's what I like most about you." Sakurako said, hugging Ageha and kissing him.

"N-no. We didn't come to fight, Mr. Yoshimo. We just came to eat." Riko said earnestly. Ageha sighed.

"Just call me Ageha, and c'mon over. You and your friend are welcome at the table." Yoshina said, tapping the stool next to him. Riko grinned and walked over, sitting down, and pulling out a stool for Lucy, who sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't remember your name…" Kagetora said roughly, though his voice had a kind manner to it.

"R-Riko Hachiboshi. You probably know my Nii-chan, Junas better than you would know me."

Suddenly, Ageha remembered the malevolent, near psychopathic man with the sword who invaded Tenju's Root all those years ago, although, ironically, it was actually still in the future, if the year was the only thing to which you were paying attention.

"No… Way… That psycho is your brother?"

"Hey! Don't call him that! He's the nicest, sweetest, kindest person I've ever met! But he's not my brother. I call him Nii-chan because he's like a brother to me… And because it annoys him, and it's kinda funny to see him annoyed." Riko said cheerfully. Ageha secretly disagreed with her. He would personally hate to see that guy angry.

"Anyway, what're you doin' here, little lady?" Kagetora asked with a smile. "And who's this fetchin' young woman with you?" He added with a wink that got him a hard elbow in the side from Matsuri, who wasn't exactly jealous of a girl less than half her age, but slightly annoyed that Kagetora couldn't even be on good behavior when they were out in public.

"Oh. This is Lucy. We're on a date…"

"It's very nice to meet you all…" Lucy said politely in the best Japanese that she could, though she didn't doubt that it was at the very least heavily accented, if not completely grammatically incorrect.

"Wow. She's so polite! My name is Yagumo Matsuri." Matsuri said cheerfully, standing up, putting her sake down. She was already slightly buzzed, and Sakurako and Ageha had been trying for the past half hour to get her to stop drinking, as she would likely be the one driving. Even Lucy could see the blush on Matsuri's face, and the lack of focus in her eyes. But then, something clicked in her mind.

"Wait… Are you _the_ Yagumo Matsuri? The world famous pianist?"

"Yeah. You've heard of me? I'm so flattered. Not a lot of people your age even listen to classical music. Come on! Sit down, and have a drink with me!"

"Um, Miss Yagumo? We're too young to drink. I appreciate the offer, though…" Lucy said, bowing to Matsuri again.

"Oh, she knows. She's just yanking your chain. That's just how Matsuri-sensei is." Sakurako said with a friendly smile, throwing Lucy off slightly. She was amazed that these people were acting in such a familiar manner with _the_ Yagumo Matsuri.

"Come on. If you two sit down, I'll make Yoshina-kun here tell you a really interesting story. I can't guarantee that you'll believe it. But it'll be engaging, nonetheless."

Ageha sighed at this. He knew exactly the story that Sakurako was about to twist his arm into telling. He didn't like telling that story, or rather, he was tired of telling it.

For the past ten years, he had tried to put Psyren behind him. Not for nothing, but the mere fact that his insanely powerful Psi was still going strong, was more than enough proof that it did, indeed happen, and he couldn't escape it.

Lucy smiled kindly at Ageha, and sat down next to him with Riko pulling up the stool next to her. Riko already had a good idea what the story would be as well. She didn't know as much of it as Ageha did as 'she' had never been to the alternate future which was now lost to them due to the fact that Ageha and his friends prevented it from happening by killing Mithra before she could bring about Quat Nevas' decent to Earth.

"Well? Tell them the story… At the very least, Lucy doesn't know it." Sakurako said, punching Ageha in the arm.

"What? Why should I? You tell them. I've wanted to forget it all for the past ten years."

"How old are you, Yoshina-kun?" Sakurako asked, putting on her cutest face, and smiling coyly at Ageha in the way that she did when she already knew she was going to get her way.

"Twenty-five. Why?" He asked defiantly.

"Then _act_ it. Act like the old man you are, and tell the story of your youth!" Sakurako snapped, and for a moment, Ageha was sure that he saw a small glimpse of Abyss in Amamiya's eyes. He gulped, and nodded.

"O-okay. You probably haven't heard much about this, given how young you are, Lucy-san. But ten years ago, Japan was deep into a mysterious crisis we called Psyren. It was called such due to the word that appeared on the cards that were given to those who became involved.

A mysterious entity, whom we now know to be a woman who is still only known as Grigori Number Seven, controlled the entire 'game', and sent out cards to potential candidates by sending a representative Psi based creature called Nemesis Q back in time, and connecting it to a pay phone, where it beeped, and dispensed a red calling card.

If the candidate wanted to be involved, he or she put it in the phone, and answered a questionnaire, which then connected the candidate to Number Seven's mind control, and allowed her to 'punish' you if you broke the rules of Psyren…"

"Um, Mr. Yoshina… I'm sure this is all terribly interesting, but, I barely understood a word of that. I do possess nominal Psi abilities, but they're weak in the extreme, and I'm not terribly knowledgeable about the intricacies of its use, save that if I use it for too long, I get a headache and a nosebleed." Lucy said nervously, not wanting to offend Ageha, but also not wanting to sit around for a long explanation from which she would take away nothing.

"Well, have Matsuri fill you in on the fine details of Psi. For now, just listen. Basically, Number Seven sent her Burst Psi back in time and used the payphone to contact possible players. Those that answered were then under her control.

That's the short of what I said. Now, every card has a number on it. That was the number of 'points' you had, and to 'win' and finish the game, you had to reduce your card's number to zero. Every time Seven wanted you to go to Psyren, she would send Nemesis Q back in time, and dial up your mind, and a ringing would start in your head. If you wanted the ringing to stop, you had to answer a phone. Any phone would work."

"When you answered the phone, you were drawn into the future. We later found out that it was ten years in the future, into a post apocalyptic world that was plagued by failed experiments called Taboo that, due to the nature of the failed experiment, turned into mindless monsters, and was ruled by powerful psychicers in an organization called WISE."

"A man named Miroku Amagi was the leader of WISE, and his objective was to create a new world free of normal humans, made only for psychicers. However, Mithra, someone he knew was plotting against him, but didn't pay any heed to, secretly wanted to bring about the end of the world with a Lovecraftian monster called Quat Nevas.

It would be called to Earth why a psychic summons, when there were enough Psi particles in the air. So Amamiya, and I, and a few other friends went back and forth through time to unravel the mysteries of Psyren."

"We found the ringleader of the game, and eventually, her help became vital, and we faced WISE again just before Quat Nevas hit. That was when we found out that all she really wanted was to see what the cause of the end of the world was.

She didn't care to stop it. But we managed to change her mind, and she sent us back a year after when we left, and we fought WISE one last time, and destroyed Mithra, and Ourobouros, which was the harbinger of Quat Nevas, the meteorite that gave Mithra the power to call Quat Nevas.

Back then, a woman named Tenjuin Elmore was offering 500 million Yen for the answers to Psyren. It was us who gave her the answers… But, I suppose I was dumb enough to not accept the money… I guess I was still just too relieved that we were alive, and had prevented the end of the world. Weird story, huh?"

"You're… Not going to say 'just kidding'… Are you?" Lucy asked nervously. As much as she didn't want to believe that this could have happened, if such a thing as Psi existed in the first place, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility."

"Ageha… I'm very impressed." Matsuri said cheerfully. Ageha instantly perked up.

"You mean that I told the story so well? I've gotten…"

"No. I mean that you knew the word 'Lovecraftian'."

"Bite me…" Ageha said, sticking his tongue out at Matsuri.

"You better take that back, Yoshina, or yous and I gonna have a problem. You don' wanna have a _problem_ , do yas?" Kagetora asked threateningly, sliding his shades down his nose slightly to look over at Ageha, who gulped slightly, and apologized quickly to Matsuri.

"Why is someone as famous and talented as Matsuri Yagumo-san spending time with a member of the Yakuza?" Lucy asked nervously, not wanting to be in Kagetora's presence longer than she had to.

"Here's your ramen, ladies. Enjoy…" The chef said in Japanese. Lucy understood him, though, and split her chopsticks, and bowed her head.

"Itadakimasu…" Then, she started eating. She was really hungry.

"Hey, girlie… Yous ask a question, but then don't listen to Matsuri Nee-chan's answer…"

"R-right! Sorry."

"No problem. You see, Kagetora and I are actually married. He may be in the Yakuza, but he's really just a big softie…"

The others all looked away, knowing that Matsuri was probably the only person on Earth who could get away with saying that. Secretly, all the Tenjuin kids admired her greatly for her courage. Lucy finished her ramen quickly, and stood up to go sit on the other side of the counter to talk a bit to the Tenjuin kids, who all seemed like they were fairly close in age to her.

"Oh, my! You two…" Lucy said, leaning in toward Frederica and Marie, and smiling."

"You two are so pretty! Are you foreigners, too? I…" Before she could finish her sentence, though, she found herself kicked in the face by Frederica, who was glaring daggers at her.

"Don't act so familiar! Just because they're complete nitwits doesn't mean all of us are!"

"Freddy! Don't kick her! She was just complimenting you! You should say thank you!" Marie cried, jumping up, and going over to Lucy, helping her stand up.

"I'm sorry. Freddy acts tough, but really, she's just shy around new people…" Marie said cheerfully.

"I-I am not shy! I just don't want this dyke laying her hands all over me!" Frederica shouted, drawing a few disapproving looks from the crowd, which Frederica wrote off just as quickly as they came.

"Don't call her that! You're going to hurt her feelings, Freddy.

"Look! You even broke her nose!" Marie cried, calling for Van, who stood, and walked over to Lucy, offering his hand in complete silence, and leading her to a quieter place in the back, where he healed her nose, and bowed in apology.

"I apologize for my sister's behavior. She's super tsundere, but doesn't like to admit she's shy. You should watch out, though. Her Psi is nothing to sneeze at. She's a pyromancer." Van said quietly. He then spoke again.

"Your Psi is hard to determine. It's weak, so I can't get a good reading on it. Maybe Shao would be able to tell you more, though you probably wouldn't understand what he said. I know I never do. Okay, your nose is all fixed up. You probably shouldn't get too close to Frederica again. I apologize that she called you such an unkind name, but…"

"No, no. Believe me. I've heard worse than that before. I think it was my mother who actually holds the record for cruelest thing said."

"Your mother? How horrible." Van said, seeming shocked that her own mother would be unkind to her.

"Yes. It was rather unpleasant. It's not so much what she says, anymore as what she doesn't say." Lucy said, finding that she innately trusted these two people whom she barely knew. She didn't know why she trusted them. She just did. She was sure that if the girl named Frederica were here, that she would feel the same way with her.

"What do you me… Oh! Forget I asked! I shouldn't pry… Please forgive me…" Van said, bowing in apology.

"No, no. Relations between my mother and I are just tense. She'll get over it, eventually."

"She shouldn't have to 'get over it!' She should just accept you for who you are! It's completely unacceptable for a mother not to love her daughter just because she… Likes women instead of men!" Riko snapped angrily

"Well, hopefully, she'll see that someday. Until then, I can only try to be as inconspicuous as possible. My father more than makes up for it. Anyway, thank you, Van-san, for fixing my nose. Tell Frederica that I don't bear any ill will. I'd gladly tell her myself, but I don't really want to be hit again. I'll see you."

Unfortunately, as Lucy walked out, she saw Riko in an argument with Frederica.

"I demand that you apologize to Lucy-chan! How dare you kick her in the face? What did she do to you!?"

"That dyke invaded my personal space! And now you're doing the same thing! Get the hell outta my damn face!" Frederica yelled just before she was punched in the face by Riko, who sent her flying into the wall, then, quite forgetting that psychicers were generally supposed to keep a low profile, jumped clear over the counter, and began beating Frederica in the face over and over again.

"I demand that you apologize! She didn't do a damn thing to you except compliment you, and you insult her, and break her nose!? What kind of response is that!?" Riko screamed until she looked up and realized that the entire room, including the chef, was staring at them.

"E-excuse me, Miss… I… I need to ask you to leave. Leave your information so I can send your guardian the bill. Okay, people! Nothing more to see!" He said, pointing to the door. Riko muttered an apology, and walked out with Lucy, but was surprised to see the others walking out with them.

"Hey, Lucy… I'm sorry, alright? I just don't like having my personal space invaded…" Frederica muttered unhappily.

"No, it's alright. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"I… I am _not_ a homophobe!" Frederica snapped. Lucy sighed, and nodded.

"I… I didn't think…"

"Here, why don't you two come to our place for the night, at least? You, at least, Miss Lucy, seem like you need a major lesson in the use of Psi. Our mother can teach you everything you ever wanted to know and more about it." Frederica said, trying to make what she did right. She wasn't lying. She didn't hate gays. She just got embarrassed when Lucy came up to her so quickly.

"You're free to come, too, if you want… What was your name, again?"

"Riko Hachiboshi…"

"Right… Hachiboshi-san."

"Just Riko."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Oh my God! This place is huge! Does this belong to one person, or ten!?" Lucy cried, thinking that life was really unfair sometimes. Her family wasn't exactly poor, but she could never afford such a luxurious estate, for it could not even be called just a 'house'.

"Of course it doesn't belong to ten people! This isn't a fucking timeshare!" Frederica snapped back, turning her head away sharply.

"Oh, come on, now, Freddy… I thought the same thing when I first saw it." Ageha said playfully. Frederica blushed heavily and kicked him in the stomach.

"Since when did I say you could call me 'Freddy'!?"

"You pack quite a punch, Freddy… Now I know how you broke Lucy-chan's nose…"

"Stop calling me 'Freddy' you perverted, lecherous bastard! Call your own girlfriend by some stupid nickname!"

 _Oh. I see…_ Lucy thought to herself. _Frederica-san also likes Mr. Yoshina, and she's jealous of Miss Amamiya. But there's a stronger connection between all of them that I can't quite place. Maybe it has something to do with that Siren business Mir. Yoshina was talking about?_

"Well? We're not gonna wait out here all night for you! Get in here, ghost chick!"

"Please don't call me that, Frederica-san. I'm not exactly fond of my albinism, myself." Lucy said resentfully.

"Whatever. Just get inside. It's too cold, and we're letting out all the hot air!" Frederica continued, scowling at Lucy until she ran inside.

"Better. You look like you're freezing. If you're this fragile, you shouldn't even be out on such a cold night." Frederica snapped, though Lucy was sure she heard some sympathy in Frederica's voice.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm stronger than I appear to be…" Lucy replied, bowing politely. Frederica wrinkled her nose disgustedly.

"Ugh! You're like some proper Victorian princess. Stop being so formal. We may be older than you, but not by that much!"

"Thank you, Frederica-san."

"And stop calling me that! Just call me Frederica! Goddamnit, you're irritating!"

"I thought I heard unfamiliar voices in the foyer. Now I see that we have two new friends with us. Please come in, and have some tea with us. There's plenty of room at the table." Elmore said politely, rolling up in her wheelchair.

"Good evening, Miss Tenjuin. My name is Lucy Fleet. It's a great pleasure to meet you." Lucy said, bowing politely. Riko looked over at Lucy. It seemed like she had her head down the greater half of the time.

"You're a little bit shy, aren't you, Miss Fleet? Well, no matter. Come and join us, anyhow. We're always happy to greet newcomers. And the girl over there has a powerful Psi on her. I'm impressed. If I had to guess, I'd say you were a Burst type, but you have a secondary skill in Rise."

Riko gasped at this. "H-how did you know?" She asked, leaning in toward Elmore, and scowling slightly.

"It was simple to see your Psi when I concentrated. Though, I can only tell its class, not its type or its true nature. Miss Fleet, you look ill. Would you like to lie down? I could arrange a bed for you."

"N-no… I'm just tired. I'm afraid that my body has… never been very strong…" Lucy asked, swaying where she stood, suddenly dizzy. Suddenly, she collapsed. Van sighed, and walked over to her, picking her up, and taking her over to the couch, laying her down.

"She's light, and seems very fragile. I'm not sure how much I can do for her." Van said. He had healed her broken nose earlier, but hadn't sensed her true weakness of body at that moment. Now that he was truly applying his Psi, he could see how very fragile she was.

"Her albinism isn't all that makes her weak." Van said quietly. "She's suffered in her life. She was born with weak lungs, and a fragile heart. I would guess that she's always at risk of dying, but will probably die young. She's burning up, right now. I'll do what I can, though." Van said gravely. He didn't have much hope that he could really do anything. Maybe Ian would have better luck.

For the next hour and a half, they watched Van try to Cure Lucy, and after the hour was over, Van staggered back, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I did my best. She should wake up pretty… Soon. Now I need to go to sleep…"

"Don't worry, children. I can take you two home, if you'd prefer. I promise that I'll send someone to pick you up next Saturday… At 1500h. Again, don't worry about getting here. We'll come pick you up."

"I appreciate your offer, but my Nii-chan can teach her anything she needs to know." Riko said dreamily. Elmore nodded, lowering her glasses.

"Yes, but can he heal Miss Fleet if she falls ill during training?" She asked, looking at Riko with the type of stare that made Riko feel like the woman was staring right into her soul."

"N-no… I suppose he can't. Okay. We'll be there." Riko said, glancing away shyly.

Elmore smiled, and looked over at Lucy just as her eyes fluttered open, and she sat up rather faster than she could handle. Suddenly, an overwhelming sense of vertigo overtook Lucy, and she nearly fell from the couch, forcing Frederica, who was closest to Lucy at the moment, to run over, and catch her before she hit the floor.

"Th-thank you, Miss Frederica…" Lucy said weakly, sitting up again, but slower this time. She gingerly pushed her legs around and sat up with her feet on the floor, then stood up, wobbling slightly, before gaining her balance once more.

"Are you sure you're fit to go home, Miss Fleet?" Elmore asked kindly. "I can easily arrange for a ride for you. In fact, yes… Marie… You're in charge until I get back.

"Well, we're here. Are you sure you're alright, Miss Fleet? I don't mind keeping you for the night. Van can keep an eye on you until morning."

"N-no… Y-you shouldn't put yourselves out for me… I just need to get back to my apartment. I-I promise I'll be fine."

"Alright. Feel free to call if you need anything." Elmore said kindly, handing Lucy a piece of paper with her number on it.

"Thank you, Elmore-san. I appreciate your kindness. I wish you a good night."

"Well, good night, Elmore-san…" Riko said quickly, stepping out of the car, and taking Lucy's hand, leading her inside, and toward the elevator. Their elevator was fast, and got up to the top floor in no time. When they got there, Riko took Lucy to her door, and as Lucy opened it, Riko kissed her.

At first, Lucy thought of pulling back. But then, she realized that if she couldn't even accept her own sexuality, then how could she expect her mother to do so? At that moment, Lucy's mother walked over, and grabbed Lucy's arm rather roughly, yanking her back into the apartment.

"How dare you make such a shameless display in public!? Get in here! Listen, you!" She snapped, pointing at Riko. "I always knew my husband was far too lenient with her. _Never_ come near my daughter again!" She hissed, sounding rather vicious. Riko merely sneered at Lucy's mother, though.

"Listen, you blasphemously bigoted bitch!" Riko yelled, using English the entire time. "Lucy-chan isn't an object! She doesn't _belong_ to you! She's one of the nicest girls I've ever met, and I look forward to getting to know her better in the future.

"It is completely inexcusable for you to judge your only daughter just because she didn't turn out like you planned! You're a _mother_! Not a talent agent! You can't just drop your daughter if she doesn't meet your expectations! Do you understand me!?" Riko shouted, quite red, now in the face, having grabbed Lucy's mother's collar, and shoved her against the wall about halfway through her speech.

"Riko-chan! Stop! Stop!" Lucy yelled, pushing Riko off of her mother, and hugging her tightly. "Listen, I appreciate you defending me, but… I understand why my mother doesn't approve of my… lifestyle, and I don't begrudge her that.

If she eventually comes to understand, I'll be happy. If she doesn't, it's not the end of the world. Please…" Lucy said, one more time. Riko sighed, and released Lucy's mother, and sneered at her one last time, then walked out after kissing Lucy one last time.

"Thank you, Riko. I-I had a great night…" Lucy said shyly, smiling weakly at Riko, knowing that as soon as Riko left, she would likely be yelled at again by her mother.

"And, you!" Riko snapped, pointing at Lucy's mother, but not moving toward her, or acting in a more threatening manner than her harsh words.

"You _will_ stop treating Lucy-chan so poorly! Now good night, Lucy-chan…" Riko said kindly, her angry look melting as she looked at Lucy, and walked out. She immediately closed the door, hoping that she had succeeded at scaring Lucy's mother into behaving. She didn't hear screaming as she left, so she assumed that she had at least slowed the woman down a bit.

Back in Lucy's apartment, though, Lucy's mother looked at her helplessly.

"Lucy, I don't like that girl. She's violent and ill mannered. She should know better than to speak to her elders in such a manner."

For a moment, Lucy said nothing, retaining her shy demeanor. But then, something came to mind.

"No, mother. She knows better than to treat her _superiors_ in such a manner. Just because you're older than she is doesn't mean you deserve her respect, and it doesn't mean you deserve my respect, either.

If you can't even respect your own daughter, why should _anyone_ respect you?" Lucy asked in an icy manner that sent chills down her mother's spine.

"H-how dare you…"

"How dare I? How dare you treat me so poorly just because I'm attracted to women instead of men? What gives you the right to judge me? I wasn't aware that you were perfect. I didn't know you were God. Who gave you the right to say that I'm wrong? Say something, _God_!"

"If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them! God shall smite you for your sin of laying with another woman! Homosexuality is an abomination unto God!"

"Oh, Mother. Are you even listening to yourself?" Lucy asked mockingly. "You sound utterly ridiculous, quoting the Bible like that… You sound like Margaret White!"

"Like _who_?" Lucy's mother asked irately.

"Like Carrie's mother, from Stephen King's Carrie? She was a total 'holy roller', and a complete lunatic! You remind me more of her daily!" Lucy yelled, becoming angrier by the moment, as every instance of verbal and emotional abuse that she had suffered at her mother's hands came to her mind, one horrible memory at a time. Every memory made her angrier and angrier. Finally, she exploded, and something strange happened.

After that, Lucy felt like Carrie, not only because her heart was racing like mad, and her head was pounding, along with her seeing stars, and feeling like she needed to vomit.

But in that moment, there was a huge outward explosion that not only destroyed nearly everything in the room, and also sent her mother flying, and crashing into the wall, breaking a huge hole in it, and forcing her tumbling into the kitchen.

Her mother trembled on the floor for a moment, in rage, fear and pain. Finally, she got up, and staggered back out to the common area, and looked wildly at Lucy, pointing at her.

"W-w-what did… D-did you do!? You destroyed everything! You destroyed our entire apartment! I-I want you out… You're no longer welcome in this apartment… G-go live with your harlot of a girlfriend, and her unmarried father.

I've heard about those two. If he's how old I think he is, he'd likely be about thirty, and if the girl is fourteen, he would only have been sixteen when whatever tramp he was sleeping with had him the baby. She, being the irresponsible tramp she was, likely dumped her on him, and ran."

"You're wrong! Riko-chan isn't Junas-san's actual daughter. They got together when he was eighteen and she was four. Neither one had a home, and he took her in. Besides! How the hell is it your business what happened?

Goodbye! I can't stand living here, anyway! I should be able to live with people who accept me for who I am!" Lucy yelled as she stormed out of the apartment, and slammed the door. It was only then that she realized that she didn't remember where Riko's apartment was.

"Let's see… I suppose I could just call Elmore-san, but that seems horribly rude, to invite myself over. I do have Riko-chan's cell phone number. I'll just text her."

Lucy sighed, and took out her phone, dialing Riko's number. It was actually Junas who answered, though.

"Yes? Grigori residence…" Junas said icily.

"Y-yes… M-Mr. Grigori… I-it's…"

"Ah. Miss Fleet. Did you wish to speak to Riko?" Junas asked, seeming to be trying to be genial. He was failing, but at least he was trying.

"N-no… I-it's actually a long story, but do you think I could stay at your apartment for a night or two? I promise I won't overstay my we…"

"Hey, Lucy-chan! Sorry about attacking your mom! Nii-chan just got done scolding me for using my Psi so unwisely, twice in one night, no less…"

"Wait! You used your Psi _twice!?"_ Junas yelled in the background. Lucy giggled. Junas really was quite the overprotective brother figure.

"So what's up, Lucy-chan? Did I drop something in your apartment?"

"No… It's a long story, but… Well, I need to stay at your place for a night or two… I promise I'll be out soon. But… "

"No need to explain yourself! Come on over. It's apartment 1015… Hey, Nii-chan! Lucy-chan is coming over for a while!" Riko yelled, barely pulling the phone away from her mouth so that Lucy had to yank the phone from her ear.

She sighed as Riko hung up, wondering if Riko had even considered that Junas might not want company. Regardless, she couldn't think of anywhere else to go, or anything else to do, so she walked toward the elevator, and went up two stories, and walked down the hall, standing outside of Riko's apartment, and taking a deep breath.

She had never felt this way about anyone before. She had one girlfriend in the past, but she was scared off by Lucy's mother's mad ranting about 'homosexuality being an abomination unto God.' She hadn't really been terribly serious about that girl, but it was kind of upsetting to know that her mother had it out for her like that. Finally, she gathered her courage, and knocked.

It was Junas who answered with his usual steely glower on his face. Lucy shuddered in his presence. Every time she saw him, she felt like she was being stabbed over and over by hundreds of swords. It was slightly unsettling, but since Riko seemed so fond of him, he couldn't be a bad person."

"Well? Don't just stand there. Come in." He said, blunt as he pleased. Lucy bowed politely, and tried to smile.

"Something's obviously upsetting you. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to. You can stay here as long as you need to. Just tell me one thing. What is it about me that makes you so uncomfortable. I felt it the first time I met you, and this time as well…"

"H-how? I-I… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean t-to offend you… Mr. Grigori…"

" _Don't_ apologize. You didn't offend me. And don't call me Mr. Grigori. It's Junas. Now, tell me what's wrong so we can fix it."

"W-well… I-it's just the way you look at me… I-I feel like I'm being stabbed over and over again, and it hurts… I-I'm sorry… Maybe I sh-shouldn't live here after all…"

"No. Don't apologize. I apparently haven't been suppressing my aura well enough around you. Please pardon my rudeness. It's an unfortunate side effect of my Psi. People who are especially sensitive to Psi, and those who also have Psi are often aversely affected by my Kamikiri… Or rather, my God Blade.

Much like my own natural talent with swords and other bladed weapons, my Burst takes the form of invisible blades that can pretty much pierce anything. Hold on a moment, Miss Fleet…" Junas said, taking a deep breath in, and settling his arms into a Yoga position.

Slowly, she felt his aura easing up, and becoming much less sharp, and though it still seemed to go right through her, it no longer hurt, but rather felt like a mild tingling sensation. She tried backing away from him, and found that, in this case, proximity was also a factor.

"Th-thank you, Mr… I-I mean… Junas-san… S-so… You don't have a problem… You know, with me being… Gay?"

"Am I supposed to have a problem with it? Besides, if Riko-chan likes you, I have no reason not to. She's an excellent judge of character. She saw me as a good person even before I saw myself as one."

"W-what do you mean? I-I don't understand…"

"Have you ever heard of something called Psyren? Or maybe the WISE? Well, it was a terrorist group led by an associate of mine about ten years ago, and, frankly speaking, I kidnapped Riko-chan because of her Psi. I would appreciate it if you told nobody. However, I know that I cannot force your silence."

"I-is this the part where you tell me that since I know your secret, there's no w-way you can let me live?"

"Don quoi?" Junas asked, raising an eyebrow. Lucy giggled at his sudden exclamation in French. "You've watched way too many James Bond movies. No. I have no intention of harming you. Riko-chan would not forgive me if I did.

"Just know that if you hurt Riko-chan, you'll not get away with a light thrashing… Now, it's late, and you're likely not feeling well. You needn't explain your reasons for staying here, but I will ask, if only out of a sense of propriety…"

"W-well, my mother and I got into an argument that led to her expressing how much she despised the fact that I'm a lesbian, and I told her that she reminded me of Carrie's mother, quoting passages from the Bible, ranting at me on how I'm going to Hell…"

"You told her she sounded like Carrie's mother? That's pretty funny. Did she get the joke?" Junas asked, cracking a rare smile, and laughing under his breath, to suppress his laughter.

"No. Anyway, she kept yelling at me, a-and I lost control of my powers, and used telekinesis… I-I didn't even know I _could_ use telekinesis! I-I've only ever used telepathy and Rise in the past! My head is splitting! I-I…"

Finally, the strain that Lucy underwent caught up with her, and she collapsed. Junas moved quickly, and caught her before her head hit the floor. It was at that moment that Riko walked in and smiled sadly at Junas.

"Thank you, Nii-chan. I think that you really helped her. And no matter how bad you may have _acted_ in the past, you've always been a good person. It's because you have a strong heart. Grigori could capture you, experiment on you, and repress you. But they never broke you… You're still the best, and always will be…" Riko said, smiling, and kissing Junas, this time on the cheek.

"And I still haven't given up on you, Nii-chan… I'm simply taking your advice so you can't say I never tried…" Riko whispered, breathing lightly in Junas' ear, causing a shiver to go down his spine, and him to blush.

"Ahahaha… Junas-nii blushed again… At least you can't pretend that my affection means nothing to you… Nii-chan…" Riko said teasingly, before taking Lucy from him, and bringing her to her room, and putting her in bed, then going back out to the couch.

"I'll sleep out here for now. Good night, Nii-chan."

"Good night, Riko-chan…"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Riko-chan! Hurry up! Miroku's wedding is in less than an hour! Get dressed!" Junas shouted. Lucy had already gotten ready, as she had been invited by Riko.

Junas wasn't sure if it was really alright to just spontaneously bring a guest to the wedding, as he had never been to a wedding before, and he was pretty sure that Riko never had either.

Finally, though, Riko came down, dressed in a lovely pale blue dress that really made her look amazing. Junas had to stop himself from saying anything.

"Good, you're ready. Even by car, it will take a little while to get there… Hurry, both of you…"

"Um… Mr. Junas… I-is it really alright for me to go? I really haven't been invited… "

"You are welcome to come if you wish to. I will not force you to.

However… It might interest you that the instigator of the Psyren conspiracy is the one getting married. Miroku does not have any family, so he has merely invited some of the people with whom he became… I hesitate to say close, however, we hold an 'inexorable' bond that holds us together, whether we wish it to or not."

"Youshanai? I'm afraid… I-I don't understand…"

"Um… Youshanai… It's like… 'Unbreakable, unalterable'… Does that make more sense?" He asked, speaking the last two synonyms in English. Lucy nodded, and ran to her and Riko's room, and grabbed a dress that she felt would at least be presentable in a formal situation.

After all, Junas was dressed in a suit and tie, and Riko was wearing a beautiful pale blue dress that seemed to draw out all her best qualities. Lucy didn't really have many good dresses, as she had never been to many formal occasions. But she found one quickly.

Actually, it was a funny story as to how she even had her clothes, and other essential items. Her mother refused to allow her back into the apartment, now ascribing demonic powers to her. Her mother had never been outright abusive.

She had never actually been beaten by her mother, though her mother slapped her, and refused to speak to her for days when she told her and her father that she was gay. Then, she chased Lucy's first girlfriend off after smacking her around the head with her Bible.

After that, Siobhan had, quite understandably, broken up with her and asked that they get a little distance from each other. Lucy remembered that at the time, she had asked God to just kill her so she wouldn't have to be so lonely and unhappy.

She felt like a stranger in her own home. Her father tried to love her and give her attention, but her mother was so derisive of her that even the fact that her father still cared didn't make her feel much better.

But that could be a story for another time. Her mother ascribed demonic powers, now, to her, seeing the Devil in her, and wouldn't let her in the house. So Junas politely agreed to go up and get her stuff for her. Lucy had written out a list of the stuff she needed, and Junas brought Riko with him so that he wouldn't have to handle her underwear and things like that, which would be, understandably, embarrassing.

Apparently, or rather, according to Riko, when Lucy's mother opened the door, she screamed loudly enough to be heard all the way down the hall, and fell over, trying to run from Junas. Lucy agreed that Junas had an ice cold stare that could freeze the sun. But, despite his rather lean and even frightening appearance, he was actually a pretty nice person.

But Riko said that Lucy's mother started screaming that members of the Yakuza weren't welcome in her home, and that he could take his katana and leave immediately. Lucy had, of course, seen him leave, and knew for a fact that he wasn't carrying any weapons with him when he went up to her apartment.

Perhaps Junas had used his Kamikiri to frighten her. Because Riko said that as she and Junas were getting Lucy's stuff, Junas had a rather stern talk with her mother, and that all the while, Lucy's mother could only rant passages from the Bible, and scream that Junas would follow Lucy and his 'whore of a daughter' straight to Hell.

Apparently, that was the part where Riko started to worry that she might need to physically prevent Junas from murdering Lucy's mother. Riko had shared her memories with Lucy, and Lucy watched, granted, with little satisfaction, as Riko watched Junas twitching with barely controlled rage, trying to keep himself from doing something that he would regret later, if only because it would mean that he couldn't take care of Riko.

Lucy had seen the rage that burned in Junas's soul after her mother had called Riko a whore. Fortunately, Riko had decided to hurry in finding the last of Lucy's things, and packing them, and then none too gently rushed Junas out of the apartment with a polite goodbye.

 _I'll have to thank Riko-chan for saving my mother's life later. I forgot to thank her when she showed me the memory._

In short order, she got her dress on, and hurried back to the entrance, where she joined Riko and Junas in going to this Miroku Amagi's wedding.

"Junas… It's good to see you again. It seems like your aura is as sharp as ever. Please don't destroy the building." Miroku said politely. Then, he turned to Riko and Lucy, and bowed to them.

"Hello, Miss Hachiboshi… You've turned into quite a beautiful young lady. And you brought a friend…"

"Oh, this is my girlfriend, L… Lucy-chan, are you alright?"

"Todesengel…" Lucy shuddered, her face paling, and her body trembling.

As Miroku approached her, she fell to her knees, no longer able to speak even that one word.

"Todesengel? Angel of Death? Wasn't that what the Jewish prisoners called Mengele?" Riko whispered to Junas, who bumped her in the side.

"No need to whisper, Miss Hachiboshi. I can hear you perfectly well, and most of the people here know of my past… Though… I think Mr. Toshiaki remains willfully ignorant, while Mrs. Toshiaki believes me to be a great comedian. You shouldn't worry terribly about your friend.

"She is likely experiencing Psi backlash related to seeing my aura. Her Trance type Psi is probably the ability to see auras. It is truly an interesting ability. It hasn't got many combat uses. However, I would imagine that she could learn other ways to utilize it. I like to think that I am not 'an angel of death', though, in the past, I have claimed to be the 'master of life', and…"

"Mirokun… You're rambling…" Ami said quietly, approaching them so softly that the entire group jumped when she spoke.

"Oh, dear… I wasn't that silent, was I? That the great Junas couldn't even hear me coming?" She asked with a playful giggle.

"Thank you, Ami-chan… But first off, please don't call me Mirokun. Second… These are my former partners in crime. Well… Most of them are. Riko Hachiboshi is the beautiful young lady over there.

"Then, this is her girlfriend, Miss Fleet, who feels that I bear a resemblance to Josef Mengele… Honestly, I can't say I disagree, given my crimes against humanity…"

"Ahahaha! What a card! She _really_ thinks you're like Josef Mengele? That's hilarious!" Ami laughed hysterically.

"I-I'm sorry… I-I d-d-didn't… mean t-to offend you, Mr. Amagi…" Lucy whispered. Ami sighed, and leaned closer.

"What was that? Unlike Mirokun here, I'm not a psychicer, so I can't hear you if you speak so softly."

"I-I apologize f-for offending you, Mr. Amagi. I-I was… Simply caught off guard…"

"Yes… I can't say I blame you. If you knew half the crimes I'd committed, you'd be running for the high hills rather than watching my wedding. But, since you're here, come on in, and take a seat. You look like you just ran a marathon… Are you alright, Miss Fleet?"

"P-please… J-just Lucy is fine… And I didn't run a marathon. B-but I've had a weak heart and lungs since birth. I-I wasn't even expected to live for a week. I suppose I should consider myself a living miracle… But I don't believe in God, so I can't bring myself to claim as much… I'm just a little sleepy…"

"Weak heart and lungs? Why didn't you say so? We got a guy here who can handle that… Yo! Ian! Miss Yagumo! Come over here!"

"Mr. Amagi…" Ian said resentfully, glaring at Miroku in a rather dangerous manner. "I do not come when fetched. I am not a dog. I did not even want to be at this wedding, but came because Matsuri dragged me along with her meathead husband…"

"Oh, you're so pessimistic. I have a patient for you…" Matsuri whispered. "I know you prefer to keep your powers a secret, but you'll really be helping this girl. She says she has a weak heart and lungs, and from what I can see, she's got Albinism as well… Could you at least take a look at her? I will pay you if you want me to…"

"No… I-I can't ask him to do something for a complete stranger…" Lucy muttered nervously.

"C'mon, Ian… Look at this girl… She looks ready to keel over on the spot… And she's so young…" Matsuri interrupted, looking at Ian hopefully. Ian had never been able to deny Matsuri a request when she asked so earnestly.

"Fine. You don't owe me anything… I don't like stealing from little children, anyhow. The wedding is in only an hour. When it's over, I suggest you take a taxi back to your residence. I'll join you, and look at… What did you say your name was?" Ian asked, looking at Lucy.

"I'm Lucy Fleet… It's a pleasure to meet you, sir…" Lucy said in choppy Japanese.

"Call me Ian… And your Japanese is atrocious. Shouldn't you at least learn the language before coming here?"

"Oh, I can read and write Japanese fluently… All three types… Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. I just can't speak it very well…

"I'm sorry… I-Ian-san…" Lucy said nervously, quailing under his rather intimidating gaze. There was something about the glare that he had on his face, and the shadows under his eyes that made him seem positively ghoulish.

"Ian! Take that look off your face. Can't you see you're scaring the poor girl? Don't worry, Lucy-chan… Ian may look scary, but he's actually not such a bad guy…"

"Um… Um… Yagumo-san… I-it's an honor to see you again… I-I'm a big fan of your music…" Lucy said nervously in English. Matsuri laughed, and nodded.

"Thanks, I guess… But being a professional pianist is annoying, sometimes…" She said. Lucy raised an eyebrow. She couldn't see how being a famous musician could be annoying. But she wasn't in a position to argue.

"Oh, shit… The wedding is about to start…" Miroku said, rushing off.

The wedding was very nice, and though neither Miroku nor Ami were really religious, they had the wedding in a church because Ami's parents wanted them to. Ami's parents were both religious, but neither believed Miroku when he said he nearly brought about the end of the world with psychic powers. Perhaps it was convenient.

"Do you, Miroku Amagi, take Ami Toshiaki to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do." Miroku sakd. The minister then turned to Ami, and repeated the question, to which she responded in the positive.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride…" Miroku sighed. He had always been a fan of the dramatic and the sensational. That much was obvious, given the rather flagrant way he tried to destroy Japan, by bringing down entire cities around him and the WISE with their psychic powers.

But regardless, he wasn't a fan of churches, finding them to be tacky and overly ornate. Miroku kissed Ami on the lips, and walked back down the aisle with her.

"Alright, Miss Fleet… Just relax… Healing doesn't hurt. It's just the psychic acceleration of one's natural healing ability. No. This won't work." Ian said bluntly. "You're still too stiff. Miss Hachiboshi… Come over here. Maybe you can calm her down." Ian continue, beckoning Riko over. Riko nodded, and scurried over next to Lucy, kneeling down next to her and taking her hand.

"Don't worry, Lucy-chan. I've had healing done on me before…" Riko lied. "It doesn't hurt. Just relax." The girl whispered, gently keeping Lucy's hand stable. Lucy sighed and her muscles loosened. Ian nodded, and took a deep breath, synchronizing with Lucy to prepare for the healing.

He felt her heart and lungs. They were weak. It would take a fair amount of energy to heal someone who had been born with a weak heart and lungs. He couldn't improve her physical fitness.

She would still be weak of body after this, but he could certainly improve the condition of her heart and lungs. So he focused on the lungs and the heart, and poured his Rise power into them, willing them to become healthy again.

Lucy took deep breaths as he did this, feeling her lungs and heart becoming stronger by the moment. It was a strange feeling, being healed like this. After a moment, Ian stopped, and offered his hand. Lucy took it, and pulled herself up, smiling politely at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Ian… It was very kind of you to heal me like this…"

"Eh, don't bother thanking me… Matsuri knows I can't refuse her requests… Even when they are unreasonable… I would still advise you to wear sunscreen whenever you go out. Albinism isn't as easy to heal as a weak heart or lungs…"

"Of course…"

"And despite the fact that your heart and lungs aren't in immediate danger of failing, anymore, they still aren't strong. You need to exercise caution when undergoing strenuous activity, especially if you use Rise. I can tell you can use Psi. Now, enjoy the wedding. There's no excuse not to.

After that, Riko took Lucy's hand, and led her to the dance floor, and danced with her, holding her close to her body. She hoped that Junas was watching, and feeling super jealous. In fact, Junas was off in a corner as ever, brooding, until Ageha and Sakurako walked over to his table and sat down next to him. Sakurako spoke first.

"Come on, Junas. Come dance. This is a wedding. It's not a formal dance. People are supposed to be enjoying themselves…" Ageha said with a laugh.

"You should dance with your lover. I'm not someone you should pity on or even like. I have no redeeming qualities, and I hate dancing…"Junas said coldly.

"Well, have you ever tried it, Junas?" Ageha asked with a wide grin.

"No…"

"Ehehe… Don't worry. Amamiya is mad at me 'cuz I don't wanna dance with her. Really, I just don't wanna step on her toes. We may be engaged, but I think stepping on her toes even once would be a deal breaker."

"Oh, come on, Ageha! You can't be that bad… Let's go… I can tell that Junas would rather watch Riko-chan than talk to us." Amamiya said, dragging Ageha away from Junas.

Junas twitched at this, but said nothing as the two walked away, and got on the dance floor, and joined in the dance. After a few minutes, Lucy was feeling tired, and so, she sat down, and Riko went over to Junas and asked if he wanted to dance with her. She wanted more than anything to dance with Junas, and knew that if she could get him to hold her in his arms, even just that once, that her life would be complete.

Junas sighed, and nodded, taking Riko's hand and following her out to the dance floor. He had taken dance classes shortly after the Psyren business was ended, and knew the basics of it, though he never really liked it.

His therapist, though, had suggested that he start getting into activities that would occupy his time so that he could funnel his anger into more productive venues, or some such psychological bullshit like that.

Junas sighed, and blushed, not looking into Riko's eyes for fear of giving away his feelings for her. Even as he put his hands around her waist and on her back, he refused to look at her, staring into the distance.

Riko was extremely perceptive, though, and kicked Junas in the ankle.

"Hey, Junas-nii… If you won't even look at me, why did you agree to dance with me?" She snapped.

"You asked me to dance. You know I can't refuse you, Riko-chan. I would do anything for you." He said in his same nearly threatening tone that made Riko wonder just how far he would really go for her.

"Then why won't you agree to be my boyfriend?" Riko whispered. Junas shook his head.

"Because that would be counterproductive for you. You're too young, and I'm too old. Besides… There's no good reason to love me."

This time, Riko kicked Junas much harder in the shin, and dragged him off the dance floor angrily into the other room.

"Junas Grigori!" Riko snapped, sounding quite shrill now in her anger. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again!

"There are a million and one reasons that I love you, and a million more reasons why I should love you more with every passing day! You're kind. You're generous! You took me in when I had nobody! You taught me to control my Psi! You… And you can't even love me…. What am I to you!? Tell me right now what I mean to you!" Riko demanded, stomping on Junas's foot, causing him to yell in pain and curse angrily.

"You're… You're the most important person in my life. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, and a better person than I could ever be…" Junas said honestly. He never once thought of himself as a good person. But Riko was just so sweet and innocent. He never wanted her to change in that respect.

"J-Junas-nii… A-am I really that important to you?" Riko asked, knocked completely breathless by Junas's declaration to her.

"No. You aren't important to me. You're irreplaceable. You're vital. I couldn't survive without you anymore. But your girlfriend is right behind us."

"Oh shit! Lucy… Y-you heard all that?" Riko asked nervously. Lucy nodded sadly.

"Yes. I did. I kind of knew all along that you were in love with Junas. I could smell the way you felt when you looked at him. It was unmistakable… But… I really liked you, and I hoped that I could at least pretend that you loved me, even just for a little while. But…"

"No. I _do_ love you. Junas-nii is irreplaceable to me, but I already confessed to him a while back, and he told me to wait until my eighteenth birthday, and that then he'd give me an answer. So… I still have about three years… If it's alright with you, I do still want to spend time with you… And I love having you around Junas-nii's apartment, so if you would, I'd still like you to stay…"

"R-really? If that's the case, I would like to have at least a little longer with you, Riko-chan…" Lucy said shyly.

"Thank you…" Riko said, kissing Lucy on the lips softly.

"You know, I've wondered for a while now, but you have a bit of a lisp…" Riko began. Lucy laughed and nodded.

"Yes… I loved vampires as a child. I read Dracula when I was ten and decided to give myself fangs. So I used a file to file one of my teeth to a fine point. It hurt so much that I didn't do the other side, but I had to go to the dentist and have the whole tooth worked on. But even now, my tooth is very prominent, and I speak with a lisp."

"I see… I read Dracula… It was a good book… You know that Dracula is a true story, right?" Riko asked. At this, Lucy laughed.

"That's ridiculous! Of course it's not real!"

"Yes. Vlad Dracula II was a Psionicist with many psionic powers, as his psionic ability was to steal others' abilities through their blood. Of course, that only worked when he drained a psionicist, which explains why he didn't have too many powers.

"But he also gained immortality, as one of the powers that he stole was the ability to drain others' life force, and so, for every life he took, he gained as many years to his life as that person had left. Isn't that amazing?"

"It sounds like a fantastic novel, but not too likely."

"You don't have to believe me. I don't care." Riko said dismissively.

"No, I believe you… It's just such a strange idea. You have to admit the unlikelihood of that happening."

"Yes… I suppose it does seem fairly unlikely. But there have been psionicists in history who have had that power, and they have been called vampires, which was how the legends started. They're rare in the extreme…

"Only one in fifty trillion psionicists have that power, but they do exist. But considering that only maybe one in ten thousand people are psionicists in the first place, there often isn't even one such psionicist in the whole world." Riko said. Lucy sighed.

"If you say so, Riko-chan. O-oh, and… Thank you so much for saving my mother's life… I know it's kind of an inopportune moment to tell you this, but I appreciate it…"

"Saved your mother's life? What memory were _you_ looking at…? It sure ain't the one I showed you! I almost wanted to let Junas-nii kill that bitch."

"I-I know she called you…"

"I don't care what she called _me_! She could call me a slut whore dyke antichrist from the 8th dimension, and I wouldn't give a shit! I'm angry that she was so mean to you. You deserve better than that…" Riko said ardently, cupping Lucy's cheek and staring into her pale blue eyes.

Lucy laughed, and took Riko's hand, following her back into the reception room, and they passed a few more hours dancing before Lucy had to sit down for the rest of the afternoon, now thoroughly exhausted from her day.

The two girls watched as Ageha walked out with Amamiya limped out behind him. It was obvious that he had, in fact, stepped on her toes several times in the process of trying to dance. The two girls giggled at this, and then looked at each other and kissed once more before standing and going back over to Junas.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Junas sighed, brushing a stray strand of hair out of his face. Riko laughed and ran over to Junas and handed him one of her hair ties.

"Junas-nii… I know you like your hair long, but get it cut if it's bothering you. It's halfway down your back, already…"

"I know. I like my hair like this, though… It makes me feel like a Samurai. I can tie my hair in a ponytail, and follow Bushido…" Junas said with the barest hint of a smile. Riko stood there for a moment, completely dumbfounded.

Junas _never_ smiled, much less made jokes, so it was completely unprecedented for him to be making one now. After a minute, though, she began giggling until Junas waved his hand sharply, cutting her off.

"Enough! Get ready for school. You and Lucy don't want to be late, do you?" Junas asked sharply. Riko looked to the left, then to the right.

"Weelllll…"

"No. You don't. Look Riko-chan, you're extraordinarily bright, and I don't doubt that you know most of the stuff they're teaching you already. Just humor the system and go to school so I don't get arrested."

"Awww! But you never had to go to school!"

"Quiet!" Junas snapped furiously. "Nobody can know about that! If _anyone_ knew where I really came from or who I really was, we'd have to go on the run!" Junas finished. As soon as he did though, he looked up and saw Lucy standing there.

"How much did you hear?" Junas asked in an unintentionally threatening manner. Lucy shivered and moved behind the wall slightly in the vain hope that it would protect her from Junas's wrath should he decide she was too dangerous to let live.

"Oh, don't worry, Lucy-chan. Junas-nii won't hurt you. He looks scary, but he's actually really nice."

"So, how much did you here?" Junas asked, not slowing up, even for a minute.

"I… Heard most of it, Junas-san. I'm sorry… I shouldn't have listened in."

"No. It's fine. Just get to school. This is your first time in a Japanese school, correct, Lucy?" Junas asked dispassionately. Lucy nodded. She was pretty nervous. Junas couldn't help her, though. He had no experience with schools.

"I wouldn't worry much about Junas-nii…" Riko said kindly, taking Lucy's hand and looking into her pale blue eyes that Riko found amazingly beautiful.

"No… I-it's not that… I-I just hate this skirt… I feel exposed in it."

"Did you remember to put your sunscreen on this morning?" Riko asked, looking away contently.

"Yes. I never forget. I even do that on cloudy or rainy days, if only out of habit. I could do some pretty bad damage if I didn't."

"You'll probably need to start learning Japanese pretty quick, Lucy-chan. I… What do you want, Hideki?" Riko asked, exasperated at this intrusion.

"I merely wished to welcome your lovely foreign friend to Japan, and say that I would be glad to help her with anything she needs. If I heard correctly, your name is Lucy, correct?" Hideki asked, bowing politely.

"Y-yes… I-I-I appreciate the offer, but I must decline. I have all the help I need from Riko-chan."

"Well, come back if you ever change your mind, cutie!" Hideki said cheerfully, winking at Lucy and running off.

"Don't pay any attention to him. He's hit on a million girls, and been rejected every time. The one time he actually did get a girl to go out with him, she broke up with him in a week."

"I see. But what were you saying?"

"Oh, right! You'll need to pick up fluent Japanese pretty quickly, so I'm gonna start speaking in Japanese to you from now on, and I'll expect you to do the same."

"O-of course. Thank you for being so accommodating to me up to this point…" Lucy said, switching dutifully to Japanese.

"Good morning, class. Now, as you can see, we have a new student today. Miss Fleet, if you could write your name and tell us a bit about yourself?"

"M-my name is Lucy Fleet. I know the Japanese don't have an L in their language, so you can feel free to call me whatever you like. I will try to answer to any nicknames you may come up with. I come from England, and I'm afraid my Japanese is second rate at best, so I'd appreciate it if you could help me learn your language better…"

"Thank you, Miss Fleet. You may be seated behind Miss Hachiboshi, and turn to page 138 of the textbook. This class will be pretty easy. It's English…

Actually… I'll have to talk to the headmistress about getting you moved to a different foreign language class, since you're already fluent in English." The teacher said politely, looking over at the back left corner of the classroom as Lucy walked quickly back, and sat down quickly.

The class passed slowly for Lucy. She knew everything that the teacher was saying, and it seemed as though Riko knew it as well, as she wasn't taking notes.

"Miss Hachiboshi? You may wish to take notes. I am aware that your brother is American, but this material will be on the test."

"Sure, sure…" Riko said in English. The teacher sighed. "Well, don't you think you should take out your pens and paper, then?"

"Mrs. Arisawa. I have been speaking English since I was four years old, and speak and write it as fluently as Japanese.

"I wanted to opt out of English and take another language instead. But the school refused to allow me that option…" Riko continued in English, even getting the 'L's' perfectly. Mrs. Arisawa scowled, and turned around, continuing to write on the board.

There was nothing she could really do if Riko simply refused to take notes, and she couldn't deny that Riko had gotten 100's on every test that she had given so far, and even got perfect scores in class participation, and never missed an answer when she was called on randomly in class.

She spoke like a westerner, even, in that she could say the 'L' sound perfectly, almost as if she had been born in a western country, and moved to Japan, or had been specifically trained to pronounce the 'L'.

Such training wasn't really necessary in speaking English, as most words didn't rely on the 'L' to convey the meaning, but she admired whoever taught her that trick. Perhaps, though, the teacher would have been better advised teaching her respect for the teacher rather than such minute details of a language.

As Mrs. Arisawa was thinking this, the bell rang, and the kids started packing up, and walking out.

"Alright. Remember the test… Why do I even bother?" She asked, noting that there were only six or seven people still in the room, two of them were Riko and Lucy, and the others were boys crowded around them.

"Oi, Yuki-chan! Yuki-chan!" A boy called from across the room. Riko nudged Lucy.

"You're up. They're calling you." She whispered. Lucy started slightly, but looked up at the boys and smiled politely.

"Konnichiwa, sempai. Anata ni ae totemo ureshii desu. Watashi no namae ha Lucy Fleet no kantai desu. (Hello, sempai. It is very nice to meet you. My name is Lucy Fleet.) Lucy said, trying to speak Japanese as well as she could. She seemed to have impressed the boys reasonably well.

"That was pretty good, Yuki-chan."

"Yuki-chan?" Lucy asked, feeling puzzled.

"You know… Cuz your hair is white, like snow. Did you not have snow where you live?"

"Oh! No, snow was not so uncommon where I lived. I'm from England. The part of England I'm from is well known for its cold winters. We lived pretty close to the border of Scotland."

"What was that? Where is Scotland?"

At this, Lucy laughed, causing the boys to blush slightly. Riko had to admit that Lucy had a beautiful laugh that lit up the room around her.

"What do you mean 'where is Scotland? Scotland, Wales and England are all part of the same landmass… It is a little bit like a boot, if you can picture that.

"Scotland is to the North, and England is in the middle, and extends to the southernmost borders of the landmass. The western border of England is connected to Wales, which extends a small ways into the Atlantic Ocean."

"So… Scotlanders, Walers, and Englanders all speak like you?"

At this, Lucy actually scowled.

"If you wanna talk to me, that's fine. But I can't be late for class. You'll have to walk with Riko-chan and I." Lucy said, sounding slightly shorter in temperament than she had merely a moment ago.

"Alright. Any of you guys wanna join me?"

"Sorry, Hando… I can't be late again… See ya later."

"Yeah, ditto for us…" The other guy said. Hando shrugged, and followed Lucy and Riko out of the classroom. He was going to see if he could convince Lucy to go on a date with him. He would totally be the envy of all of his friends if he could get a date with a beautiful westerner like Lucy.

"Anyway, Mr. Hando…" She said, saying 'Mister', rather than using the –san honorific. "Welsh people speak very differently from English people, who speak differently from Scottish people. Even within the three countries, there are differences in accents. I'm sure that even _you've_ heard of London, right?" Lucy asked. Hando nodded. That was pretty much the only city in England he had heard of.

"Good. I'm glad to see that ten years of education haven't been _completely_ wasted on you…"

"At this, Hando laughed."  
"Hey, Riko-chan… Your friend has a sharp sense of humor."

"Anyway, Mr. Hando. There are two distinct accents in London alone. One is just a London accent, and that's what you normally associate with a 'British' accent. The other one is a Cockney accent. The best way to describe the part of London in which you would find a Cockney accent would be 'within hearing range of the Whitechapel bell tower.

However, it is more commonly associated in modern day with the working class of London. And again, that is just in London alone. In Wales, there are two particularly distinct accents. Northern Welsh, and Southern Welsh."

"Do you all speak English?"

"Yes. Most United Kingdom citizens speak English. However, many Welsh, Irish, Manx, and Scottish citizens still speak Gaelic as a primary language, and Ireland, Wales and the Isle of Man have their own national languages. Wales has Welsh, Ireland has Irish, and the Isle of Man has Manx… Now, it was nice meeting you, Hando-san… I must get to class…"

"Wait! Yuki-chan…"

"Yes, Hando-san?"

"Maybe you'd like to hang out with me this Saturday?"

"Oh… I appreciate the offer, but I had plans this weekend…" Lucy said naively. Hando looked disappointed, but smiled and nodded.

"Alrighty… See you later, then, I guess…"

"Wow, Lucy-chan… You're _already_ being hit on by boys. I knew that you would be popular, but this really takes the cake."

"Y-you mean… H-he was trying to ask me on a date?" Lucy asked nervously. Riko nodded, causing Lucy to blush deeply, her face now a dark crimson.

"Alright, girls… We're just gonna be playing dodgeball today…" The gym teacher said sternly. "But first, you got a new classmate, as many of you can see. This is Lucy Fleet. She's from England, so try to help her adjust. Fleet-san…

"Have you ever played dodgeball before?" The gym teacher asked. Riko flinched. She knew that Lucy was physically frail, and even though Ian worked on her, that she probably wasn't up to as arduous a task as dodgeball.

"U-um… I-I've never actually played it, ma'am, but I've seen it played at my old school."

"Good. Then divide up. Hachiboshi-san, you're the captain for the right side. Tensa-san, you're the leader for the left side.

After the teams were split up (Riko had immediately chosen Lucy for her team, hoping that she could at least try to help her a bit. Apparently, the school hadn't gotten the memo that Lucy was physically frail.

Maybe Lucy's mother hadn't seen fit to tell them. Either way, Lucy was in danger of getting hurt. Eight balls were put in the middle of the gym, and the girls lined up on the end, and ran in. Immediately it became clear that Lucy was a slow runner.

She had barely managed to get halfway in before all the balls were grabbed, and by the time she made it three more steps, the balls were being thrown. Lucy squeaked quietly as she dodged the balls being thrown at her, showing more aptitude for dodging than catching. Finally, she caught one ball, and homed in on another player from the other team, able to see her now as though seeing her through a scope.

She then used her modest Rise to throw the ball as hard as she could, hitting the girl harder than she meant to, actually knocking the girl over. Riko then threw her ball at another player and knocked them out of the game. This continued through the entire gym period until the teacher blew her whistle, the last balls were thrown, and the teacher told them to gather the balls.

It was at this time that Lucy realized how exhausted she was, and noticed her terrible migraine.

"Um, Fleet-san…" A girl from the class said quietly.

"Y-yes…" Lucy panted.

"Your nose is bleeding. Did you get hit in the face? Hey, Sensei! Fleet-san's nose is bleeding!" The girl yelled, causing Riko's head to shoot up and Lucy to blush deeply.

"N-no… I-I'm fi…" That was all she was able to say before she collapsed, her chest heaving in and out with weak, shallow breaths, her face terribly flushed, sweating profusely.

"Move!" Riko snapped, unconsciously using her Rise to shove both the girl and the teacher aside. Riko ignored the shocked stares of her classmates and the outraged look on her teacher, and knelt down next to Lucy, putting a hand to her forehead.

"Lucy-chan… You shouldn't have used your powers just to keep up…" Riko whispered, looking close to tears. "You should've just opted out of gym class… Junas-nii could've taken care of it by tomorrow."

With this, Riko looked over at the teacher, apologized for pushing her, and ran out of the room with a graceful fleetness of foot none of her classmates knew she possessed. Even the teacher would later comment that even she couldn't run that fast.

Riko tore through the halls, jumping over or pushing out of her way anything that obstructed her, finally making it to the nurse's office.

"Nurse!" Riko shouted, bursting into the room.

"Oh… Hachiboshi-san… How nice to see you…" The man said, turning around with a pleasant smile. He adjusted the circular glasses on his nose, and looked down with concern at the package in Riko's arms.

"And what is her story?" He asked.

"We were playing dodgeball in gym class, and Lucy-chan collapsed afterward!"

"My… You must be good friends for you to be willing to carry her all the way from the gym to here…"

"Y-yes… She's my girlfriend… We met over break…"

"I see. Well, let's put her down on a bed and take a look at her…" the nurse said politely. Riko took her over to a bed and let her rest while the nurse got a thermometer, took her temperature, waiting for the beep.

"Oh, dear… She has a pretty bad temperature… Why is her nose bleeding? Did she get hit in the face?"

"N-no! I-I can't tell you… I-I know why, but I can't tell you…"

"I see. She overused her psychic powers… I studied Metaphysics as my minor in college. Hasn't anyone told her that she shouldn't use her psychic powers for something as mundane as gym class, especially if her powers are poorly developed?"

"Well… Sh-she has a weak body, and she couldn't get through gym class without the use of her powers…"

"Then why doesn't she just get her parents to have her excused from gym?"

"Well… I don't have any proof, but Lucy-chan has an antagonistic relationship with her mother, who's kind of a Christian fundamentalist. She acts like a modern day Margaret White. Her father seems like a nice guy."

"I see. Well, I do have to call her parents. Do you know her number? I certainly don't."

"Yeah… Here it is…" Riko said, digging for her cell phone, finding it and reading out the number. The nurse dialed Lucy's number and on the third ring, got an answer.

"Hello? Fleet residence. How may I help you?" Came a female voice.

"Are you the mother of Lucy Fleet?" The nurse asked.

"There isn't anyone by that name living here." The woman said, her voice suddenly becoming ice cold.

"Don't lie, Mrs. Fleet." The nurse said hesitantly. "I have your daughter here in the nurse's office along with her friend."

"Oh, you mean her whore? Well, whatever's wrong, it's not my problem anymore. I pray for their souls, but I won't tarnish my own soul by abiding her deviant behavior."

"Now hold on, Mrs. Fleet! You got married and you had a daughter!

"A mother is supposed to love her child unconditionally!" The nurse said in a pressured voice, switching to English. "A mother is supposed to support her child and help them through good and bad, through the hard times and the easy times!

"You don't get to pick and choose what traits your child has! If your daughter is a lesbian, you need to learn to accept it. Obviously Fleet-san has learned to accept it, and she's happy with Hachiboshi-san! You should…"

"So God said… If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them! God shall smite you for your sin of laying with another woman! Homosexuality is an abomination unto God! Homosexuality is a sin unto the Lord!"

"Mein Gott! You really are just like Margaret White. Well… Regardless, I still need you to tell me what you want me to do. She's got a pretty high fever…"

"It is the Lord's wrath for lying with another woman! She shall be purged from this earth! Goodbye!"

"Um, Aldershof-san… Why don't you call my Junas-nii… He's the one actually taking care of her for the moment. Her mother wasn't lying when she said that Lucy didn't live there."

"Okay, well, I know Grigori-san's number… Let's see… Yeah…"

The nurse waited for Junas to pick up the phone, whistling as he waited.

"Kamikiri Kendo…" Came an aloof, gravelly voice on the other side.

"Oh, Grigori-san… This is the nurse at your daughter's school…"

Junas didn't bother to correct his assumption that Riko was his daughter. He was tired of that conversation.

"Did Riko-chan get into a fight?"

"No. W-why would you assume that?" The nurse asked

"No reason. What's wrong? Did Riko-chan get hurt?"

"No. Um… Is Lucy Fleet under your care?" He asked politely.

"Yes. She is living in my home. Is something wrong?" Junas asked, sounding concerned.

"Junas-nii!" Riko shouted, grabbing the phone away from the nurse.

"Oh, hello, Riko-chan. Something happened? Wait. Let me guess. She got into trouble because you and she didn't hide the fact that you were in a relationship."

"N-no! The people at our school are really open…"

"She accidentally hit a boy and hurt him when he asked her out?"

"No… Sh-she did get asked out once today, but that's not the problem…"

"Her stupid fundamentalist mother didn't tell anyone that she has a weak constitution, and she felt obligated to participate in gym. She used her psychic powers to keep herself going and she collapsed?"

"Yes! How did you know!?"

"Those were the three best options I could think of. Does she have a fever?"

"Yes… 40oC! She's really burning up!"

"That is bad. I'll be right over… Please tell Mr. Aldershof that I'm on my way."

"Junas-nii! You're such a great guy!"

"No, I'm not…" And Riko could practically hear him blushing again, causing her once more to break into a fit of giggles.

"Bye, Junas-nii…"

"I love you, Riko-chan…"

Hearing this, Riko gasped. This was the first time he had ever actually come out and told her that he loved her. Junas wasn't a very emotive man, and she fully accepted that, and just figured implicitly that he loved her. But it was nice to hear it. Riko felt tears stinging her eyes.

"I-I love you, too, Junas-nii…" Riko gasped, hanging up the phone.

"Are you alright, Hachiboshi-san?" The nurse asked. Riko wiped her eyes and nodded, smiling.

"Oh, yes. I'm better than ever, in fact. Junas-nii says he'll be right over… D-do you mind if I wait with you for him? I can't go home, I know, but…"

"Sorry, Hachiboshi-san… You need to get changed and go to class. I'm sure Fleet-san will be fine. Go. Don't worry."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"Hey, Riko-chan… Where's your friend? You seemed inseparable this morning…" A girl from one of Riko's classes asked, gently tapping Riko on the shoulder. She remembered just as well as anyone the one time a person got on her bad side.

A boy had just asked her out. He was a hulking brute of a boy, Yamato Kaneda, and she had turned him down and turned away from him.

He made the rather stupid mistake of grabbing her shoulder to try to make her pay attention to him, and she grabbed his arm, dislocated his shoulder, broke his arm in two places and flipped him over, slamming him on the ground so hard that the tiles cracked and the entire floor shuddered momentarily.

After that, she was promptly suspended for three weeks, but she also was never harassed again. Anyone who really knew Riko knew that she was a gentle and kind girl with a great sense of humor and a natural personal magnetism that seemed to draw in everyone around her.

She appeared naïve and trusting, but underneath, she was nobody's fool. Or at least, that was how Sakira saw Riko. There were plenty of girls who had bad feelings against Riko due to her personal charm and the way she seemed to attract the attention of every boy she talked to. Sakira wasn't one of them.

She wouldn't say she was Riko's friend. They didn't know each other that well, but they had been in study groups together, most of which Riko quickly took the leading position in as not only the most organized, but also the smartest and most knowledgeable in the group. Riko was certainly enviable on many levels.

"Oh, you mean Lucy-chan? She came down with a fever and had a bad nosebleed, so she was sent home by the nurse." Riko said. She wasn't lying. Those were certainly the symptoms of Lucy's problem. The cause though was primarily her weak constitution which was then exacerbated by her overextending her Rise powers. Lucy's Rise powers were weak in the first place.

Riko didn't doubt that she could beat Lucy in a fight even if Lucy was using her Rise powers to their full extend, and Riko wasn't using hers at all. Lucy would have the benefit of modestly advanced speed, strength and stamina, but Riko, having learned to fight from one of the best fighters she knew would win hands down.

Thus it had been ill-advised for Lucy to use her Rise powers even to the minimal degree that she had. Riko had seen in that gym class that Lucy had poor control over her psychic powers. She had thrown the ball far too hard once and hurt someone and once had not thrown hard enough and it had fallen short.

The problem was that now that she saw how poor Lucy's control was and how uncommonly dangerous it was for Lucy to overuse her Psi, Riko wasn't sure that she wanted to take the risk of helping her train with it. Plus, she was becoming attached to Lucy.

She had only ever really seen Lucy as a friend at first. But she was coming to see her as more, now. She wasn't attracted to her. It wasn't like that. It was just that she had started to feel like she would have trouble breaking up with Lucy when the time came. She just didn't want to hurt Lucy any more than she had already been hurt.

"Hey, Riko-chan… Are you and Yuki-chan… Like dating or something? I-it's just that I heard someone say you were holding hands coming into school, so… N-no… Never mind…"

"We are. She's a real beauty, isn't she?" Riko asked, laughing slightly at Sakira's dumbfounded look. Sakira had never pegged Riko for being a lesbian. Certainly she was stronger than any man or woman Sakira had ever met and she had turned down every boy who asked her out. But she didn't come across as gay.

"Are all foreigners as pale and light haired as Yuki-chan?"

"No… Lucy-chan is… A little bit different. She's also kind of frail."

"I see… Is that why she had to go home? Did she overdo it in gym or something?"

"Yes. Something like that. Excuse me… I have to get back to Junas-nii…"

"Oh! Of course! I heard that your brother came to the school today… Is he really as handsome as everyone told me he was?"

"Yeah… Well, you can come with me to see him if you like…"

"Well… Alright… Some of the guys said he was kinda scary, though… Does he glare at you, too?"

"What? No! Junas-nii isn't scary at all! He's really nice… He's taken care of me since I was a little girl… Hurry up, or Junas-nii'll start to worry!"

"Does he always pick you up after school?"

"No. But he closed the dojo for today, so he decided to pick me up. Hurry now…"

"Junas-nii!"

"Riko-chan… I've asked you not to call me that… People already suspect something about us…" Junas muttered, blushing slightly, which caused Riko to giggle.

"You're super cute when you blush, Junas… Oh! This is my friend, Sakira… She said she wanted to meet you, so I brought her over."

"It's… Nice to meet you, Sakira-san…" Junas said stiffly, bowing to her and affixing her with a glare that chilled her blood completely. Sakira shivered and bowed back.

"I-i-it's nice t-t-to meet you, too, Hachiboshi-san…"

"Call me Junas… I didn't mean to startle you… I'm… Uncomfortable around new people…"

"Aww… Your brother is shy? That's so cute!" Sakira squealed. "And he's just as handsome as everyone said he was!" Sakira whispered, causing Riko to blush.

"Thank you. You're too kind…" Junas said, becoming even stiffer than before.

"H-he heard me? He's got amazing hearing!"

"I know, right? And he's one of those people with super reflexes who can cut a bullet in half!" forgetting herself in her excitement.

"She exaggerates. My reflexes are good, but I don't know that I could cut a bullet. We have to go. Lucy-san is waiting for us."

"Oh! Mr. Junas! Why are you wearing a suit? Do you work in an office?" Sakira asked, forgetting that Riko had already said that he worked in a dojo.

"No. It's just polite. Please pardon us, Miss Sakira. We must go."

"Why can't you ever be nice to any of my friends! One girl I was friends with came over to the apartment and you sent her home crying! Needless to say, she never came over again!"

"You know I'm uncomfortable around people. I didn't want to go to the wedding, and I _really_ didn't want to go to the barbecue."

"Please, Junas-nii… _Please_ try to get over your misanthropy! I want to be able to invite people over without you sending them home with their tails between their legs! Talk to your therapist about this! _Please_! Junas-nii, I love you, but you scare away all my friends!"

"I understand. I'm sorry. Remind me again what I did that upset that girl so much?" Junas asked, squinting and trying to remember but finding it impossible.

"Junas-nii, she told you she thought you were cute and asked you on a date, and you growled at her, called her a stupid, childish bitch and said that she should stick to men who wouldn't kill her as soon as look at her.

"Then you walked over to a sword that you had been practicing with and picked it up, fingered the tsuba and put it away before sneering at her. She ran from the apartment terrified and in tears and she never spoke to me again! It's amazing you weren't arrested for that!" Riko yelled.

"My apologies, Riko. I never meant to frighten your friends away. I only want to protect you. I-I love you."

"Y-you do? B-but you said…"

"I made no note of whether I loved you or not. I merely said that I would give you my answer on your eighteenth birthday."

"R-Riko? I-I have… T-to…"

"No more words! Here's your price! " Riko said forcefully, kissing Lucy, stopping her in her tracks.

"Les Misérables! Not many people have seen that play!"

"Junas-nii took me when I was eight. Then I read the book. I have to say the book was nothing like the play."

"Well, the book was tragic. The play was hilarious. But… I-I need to break up with you, Riko-chan… I-I'm sorry…"

"What? Why?"

"Y-you and Junas-san should be together. You love each other… There's no need to play pretend with me…"

"Don't be silly. I love you. Besides, Junas-nii won't be with me until my 18th birthday."

"Oh! I-I was under the impression that Junas-san was a lolicon, as you Japanese call it."

"W-wha!? I am _not_ a lolicon! What's a lolicon?"

"Junas-nii… A lolicon is a man who likes young teenage girls…"

"I am not a pedophile!" Junas cried furiously.

"A lolicon isn't a pedophile. A lolicon is a man, or a woman who has a fetish for young pubescent girls, but has no compulsion to rape them. In fact, lolicons are typically just otakus who have a fetish for the young looking women in animes."

"That doesn't make me feel much better. Just get some rest, Miss Fleet. I have to make my doctor's appointment. Riko-chan, please look after Lucy. Lucy, please don't break up with Riko just yet. She's happier now than I've ever seen her." Junas said, trying to be diplomatic.

"Doctor Yoshimiya. I'm actually glad to be here." Junas said. Doctor Yoshimiya leaned in and smiled.

"That would probably be the first time I heard that, at least from you. So, tell me. Why are you glad to be here? Actually, let's reiterate your last session. How is your relationship with your girlfriend going?"

"She is _not_ my girlfriend!" Junas raged, several of the items on Yoshimiya's desk rattling.

"Apologies. I got the impression that the two of you were in love and that you were simply trying to take it slow because of her youth."

"She is young. We are in love. But I told her that I would not date her until her eighteenth birthday."

"That is responsible of you on one level. But why not? I have met men approximately your age who were dating women who are approximately Riko's age. It isn't illegal, as long as you don't do anything with her that one or both of you will regret. My job isn't to warn you against following your natural urges. It's only to advise you to exercise caution and restraint in those that might cause trouble."

"I-I'm just worried… The other day, I lost my cool again…"

"You yelled at Riko and upset her?"

"No. I told her I loved her, and her girlfriend had just woken up and took my statement to mean that she should break up with Riko-chan.

"I've caused trouble for Riko-chan again. Half the time I have no idea what I'm doing as her legal guardian and the other half, I'm too sure of myself and end up making an ass of myself, leading me to wonder whether I'm right in doing what I do the times that I'm not too unsure of myself."

"Well, both confidence and a healthy level of uncertainty are not only healthy, but also seemly. From what I've seen you're a talented man in multiple areas. However, to doubt oneself is healthy as it leads one to reconsider one's options.

"However, doubting oneself too much can lead to making decisions that are overly passive. If you are too certain, you will make decisions that are too aggressive. Neither is healthy or safe. It's difficult to find the middle ground. Do you believe that Riko knew that you meant you were _in_ love with her, or do you believe that she assumed you meant you loved her as a family member."

"Riko-chan is very perceptive. She knew exactly what I meant, and so did her girlfriend."

"And you aren't concerned that she's dating a woman?" Yoshimiya asked neutrally. Junas snorted and shook his head.

"Why should I be? I encouraged her to try dating other people. I never specified that it had to be boys. So all in all, I think it's good that she's trying herself both with men and women. If she falls in love with one of her dates, I shall be happy for her."

"You seem one of the more understanding people I've met. It's good to know that you are so tolerant."

"It's actually kind of a funny story…" Junas said, laughing for the first time, well as far as Yoshimiya knew.

"I don't think I've ever seen you laugh before, Junas. It's refreshing. So, tell me the story."

"Well, have you ever read Carrie by Stephen King?"

"I can't say that I have. I'm not a big fan of horror novels."

"Well, Lucy's, Riko-chan's girlfriend's, mother, is like a caricature of some religious nut. Lucy and her family are from Wales, and the girl's family is strictly religious.

"Her mother is especially so. From what I've seen, her father is fairly permissive of Lucy's lifestyle. But her mother screams passages about the immorality of homosexuality from the Bible and verbally and physically abuses Lucy fairly frequently.

"When Riko-chan found out about this, it's lucky she didn't kill Lucy's mother. From what I found out later, she wanted to. But Lucy moved in with Riko-chan and I to get away from her mother. I met her mother only once, and she was two cupcakes short of a bakery.

"And Lucy is very frail and has a weak constitution, so her psychic powers which are still blooming in her are rarely at full capacity. Earlier today, she had to use her Rise, that is, psychic augmentation of her physical abilities just to keep up in gym.

"And even that small amount that she used exhausted her, and she passed out with a raging fever and a nosebleed due to the strain on her brain."

"Should she not be excused from gym due to her fragile health?"

"In her former school she was excused from gym. But I suspect that her mother 'forgot' to inform the school of her frailty. I suspect that she wanted to cause trouble for Lucy. Though of course I can't prove that."

"Well, you can't prove it, but it seems like you care about Lucy as well. You don't ever find yourself jealous of her?"

"Of a little girl like her? Well, yes." Junas confessed, sighing in defeat. "I'm insanely jealous of Lucy every time she and Riko-chan kiss.

"Every time they go on a date. But I'm also happy for the two of them. It happens that I ran into some old acquaintances of mine at a friend's wedding. I was invited to the wedding along with those acquaintances."

"It was nice to see them so that I could start over in my relationship with them. See, back when the Psyren incident was occurring, they and I were sworn enemies because I was working for Miroku, and they were fighting against him. So we were bitter enemies, and I was a very different person back then."

"Do you ever have the urge to harm Lucy?"

"No. Her mother has already hurt her enough."

"I should very much like to meet this Lucy. What is her last name?"

"Fleet. She's English. I'll bring her in for an appointment after school some day. She could definitely use some therapy. She's much physically stronger than she used to be after a doctor friend of mine looked at her. But she still is not well."

"Well, I have a free space in my schedule tomorrow. Bring her in at 1700h. School is out for her by then, right?"

"Yes. I will."

"Good. But we have to cut off for today. You seem to be doing much better now than you were. Riko has been a good influence on you."

"Miss Fleet…" Junas said quietly, walking into the apartment and taking his shoes off, sitting down at the table with Riko and Lucy.

"That physics equation is incorrect, Riko-chan. Try switching this with this. Then the vector will make sense." Junas continued, glancing at Riko's homework.

"Thanks, Junas-nii!"

"Lucy. I made an appointment with you with Doctor Yoshimiya tomorrow at 1700h."

"What!? No! M-my mother doesn't believe in doctors! Sh-she's one of those Christian scientists who believes that prayer is the cure for diseases."

"What!? That's ridiculous! Besides, he's not a medical doctor. He's got doctorates in psychology and sociology, and a major in anthropology."

"Mother says that psychology is blasphemy against God."

"And you believe her? You don't have to go. But he really helped me straighten my life out. You wouldn't have wanted to meet me before I started seeing him by court mandate. I was lucky I wasn't sent to prison. But I really would like to take you to see him. He's a very nice man. Nicer than me, anyway."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"G-good afternoon, Doctor Yoshimiya. I-it's a pleasure to meet you…" Lucy muttered in quick, clumsy Japanese. She still hadn't gotten Japanese down perfectly.

"You can speak English with me if you like, Miss Fleet." Doctor Yoshimiya said softly. Lucy shook her head.

"Riko-chan said I needed to speak Japanese consistently to learn it properly. I've only been in Japan six months, and my teacher says I've already improved a lot in Japanese."

"Only six months, and you already speak this well? I'm impressed. Please, sit down. No need to stand. What grade are you in?"

"N-ninth grade. S-sir, I hate to sound rude, but my mother always taught me not to trust therapists, that they plant blasphemous thoughts in otherwise good God fearing men and women."

"Do you believe her when she says that?"

"I-it isn't that I believe her. I-it's just… She's my mother. She's been telling me this since before I can remember. My mother is what you might call a Christian Scientist. Sh-she believes that modern medicine is the Devil's work and that only faith in God can cure someone. I-I'm actually an Atheist. But I've listened to her for so long that I can't just stop listening to what she said."

"Miss Fleet…"

"P-please, call me Lucy, sir."

"Very well, Lucy. You're nearly an adult. You're allowed to make your own decisions about what you believe. I won't make judgments about whether your mother is right.

"That is not my place or my prerogative. If you do not wish to speak to me, I won't force you to. But if you would like to, we can talk about whatever you like. School, or Miss Hachiboshi, or whatever you like."

"Um… I-I'm worried about Riko-chan… Well, more that she's not really interested in me… I'm not a very interesting person. She's so amazing and wonderful, and I love her so much, but… I think she's in love with someone else."

"And it sounds like that bothers you…" Doctor Yoshimiya said quietly.

"N-no… Well… It shouldn't… She's so beautiful… And… I-I'm just… Not good enough for her…"

"Is that what she says, or is that what you've told yourself?"

"I-I can't bring this up to her! I-I couldn't bear t-to have my fears confirmed!" Lucy protested. Yoshimiya nodded.

"But if you don't ask her, then how can she confirm _or_ deny them?"

"I… I'm scared, though…"

"Tell me a bit more about your family. Junas has said a little bit. But nothing beyond a cursory explanation."

"Well… I-I'm not sure I… Feel comfortable talking about that…" Lucy muttered, scratching her arm. She had been scratching it for the past few minutes, and was scratching so hard now that it was beginning to bleed.

"You should stop scratching yourself… And here, I know as a doctor I shouldn't suggest this, but try chewing some gum. It will stop you from grinding your teeth," Yoshimiya said, handing Lucy some spearmint gum. Lucy took the gum, putting it in her mouth and chewing furiously.

"You don't have to talk about your family if you don't want to. How about school? How is that going? What's your favorite subject?"

"Probably English. It's my easiest subject… I'm actually fluent in the language…" Lucy said with a nervous giggle. Doctor Yoshimiya smiled.

"Mm… Do you like Junas?" Doctor Yoshimiya asked. Lucy squirmed slightly at the very direct question.

"I-I think so… It's hard to know. He's been kinder to me than I ever could have expected. He… He took me in when my mother kicked me out… Just out of the goodness out of his heart.

"H-he… He tries to keep people from getting close to him by acting cold and mean. He sends out an angry aura. At first, I felt like I was being stabbed all over by a million knives when I was in his presence. There was no blood, but the look in his eyes terrified me. But… He… He's just a little bit socially awkward… I think he feels like he doesn't deserve friends… So he tries to push people away, even when said people would want to be his friends."

"You're a very perceptive young woman. What do you think?"

"Think? About what?"

"About Junas. Do _you_ think he deserves friends? Do you think he's as bad a person as you think he pretends to be?"

"Of course he deserves friends… Everyone deserves to have friends, to be happy. I didn't have a lot of friends in my old school. My mother tended to scare people away. My first girlfriend was physically assaulted by my mother. I tried to bring some friends over that happened to be girls, and my mother started screaming at them that God would damn them to hell for lying with other women.

"I was the school _joke_! It didn't help that I couldn't defend myself. I couldn't even run, really…"

"You seem to be hiding a lot of anger beneath your shy demeanor."

"I am _not_ angry! Shut up, asshole!" Lucy shrieked, slamming her fist on the desk, putting a dent in it by accident. Almost as soon as she finished this explosion, she gasped, turning a deep red color.

"I-I'm so sorry! Please don't hit me, mom! I-I…" She began, realizing she was still in Doctor Yoshimiya's office. "I-I have to go!"

"Please stay for at least another minute or two… I wouldn't want you getting hurt on your way out. I'm not angry… I've counseled violent criminals in my life. I've heard much worse than that in my time.

"Here, have another piece of gum…"

"Hello? Junas Grigori speaking. How may I help you?" Junas asked, sitting out in the waiting room, answering his phone.

"M-Mr. Grigori? Th-this is Lucy Fleet's father. I-I wanted to thank you for taking Lucy away from her mother.

"When I got home and found out the dispute she had with Lucy and with your own daughter, I was horrified. I hate to, how you say, air my dirty laundry in public, but I'm in the midst of a divorce with my ex-wife."

"I am capable of speaking English, Mr. Fleet. Speak it if you must."

"Oh, thank God! Japanese is such a hard language! And please, call me Seamus. I don't know if Lucy will be willing to come back home with me, but I could use Riko's testimony in court, and I must talk to Lucy as well about testifying in court.

"I'm attempting to get full custody of Lucy. My wife is of course attempting to contest my claims that she's an unfit mother."

"This isn't a conversation to have with me. Lucy is in a therapy session with a therapist whom I also see. I understand that your wife is a Christian Scientist? She must be appalled that Lucy is taking physics and chemistry in high school." Junas said with a mild laugh."

"Yes. She demanded that I remove her from the school and enroll her in a Christian school post haste. I refused."

"Well, I can't talk for the moment. Lucy is out, now. I'll talk to her and see how she feels about it. Goodbye." Junas said, turning to Lucy, who was white as a sheet at the moment, shaking from head to toe.

"Are you… Alright, Lucy? You have a bit of a fever…" Junas said, looking at Lucy probingly. He didn't use any of his limited Trance Psi to probe her psychically. He could just tell that she was upset.

"I-I… I yelled at Doctor Yoshimiya… I-I just know he h… Hates me… N-now…"

"Impossible… I nearly destroyed his entire office one day, and he hasn't gotten mad at me. I think you're worrying over nothing. Here, chocolate always helps Riko-chan when she's upset." Junas said.

Lucy looked on in amazement as he pulled a chocolate bar out of his bag, and handed it to her.

"I… You carry chocolate with you… Like… All the time…?"

"Yes… Just in case Riko gets unusually upset. I like to be prepared."

"You really love her, don't you?"

"Your father called me. He needs to talk to you about something. He didn't say what, and I didn't ask." Junas said, changing the subject too quickly to be normal.

"Lucy, I will stay if you need me to. Or I can leave. It's up to you."

"This is my father. He's a very kind person, and very reasonable. Thank you, Junas. It was wonderful to be able to stay with you. What happens now is up to my father."

"Lucy! I-it's wonderful to see you again! Are you wearing your sunscreen? It's a sunny day today. Th-this is a difficult conversation to have, especially with such a sensitive girl as yourself. First I want you to know that this is _not_ your fault. You did _nothing_ wrong."

"W-what's wrong, Daddy? You seem so upset. Your aura is a dark maroon color. Are you alright?"

"Yes. I'm alright now that I see you're alright. Lucy, your mother and I are getting divorced. I-I was in love with her for a long time, and admired her ardent faith in God. But she's so abusive of you, and I can't let that happen to my beloved daughter. I won't let it happen. She and I are fighting over custody of you, and…

"I-I hate to put you in the middle of this, but I can testify to her treatment of you, but without another person to corroborate my claims, they are less likely to be believed. Your mother might do us a favor by going off on an insane rant in court. But I can't count on that. So, I need both you and Miss Hachiboshi to testify. I-I'm so sorry to put you and your friend in the middle of this, but…"

"I'm happy to testify. But I can't make Riko-chan do something like that. I can ask her later if she'll be willing, or maybe you should. If I do it, she might feel like she has to." Lucy said uncertainly. She definitely felt bad about even considering asking Riko to testify. She knew that Riko wouldn't be afraid to testify. But she didn't want to put that responsibility on the woman she loved.

"Junas-san… C-could you give me a moment with my father?" Lucy asked politely. Junas nodded, and turned, walking out of the room. Lucy looked nervously at her father, feeling tears stinging her pale blue eyes. Her father looked down at her sympathetically and knelt down to her height, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Did something happen at school?" Her father asked, hugging her tightly to comfort her as best he could. He didn't pretend to understand what she was going through… Not yet, anyway. He wanted to know so that he could help her.

"Daddy… I-if you loved someone, but knew that she was in love with someone else, but was still dating you, what would you do?"

"This isn't a hypothetical question, is it?" Her father asked. Lucy shook her head.

"I-I think Riko-chan really does like me… B-but… She's in love with Junas-san… I-I don't know what to do… Sh-should I break up with her? I love her so much… She's done so much for me and never asked for anything in return, but… I-I'm really confused."

"I'd be surprised if you weren't, sweetheart. I'm not actually sure what to do, myself. No. I'm serious…" Mr. Fleet said quietly, shrugging.

"I honestly don't have enough information to make informed advice. Tell me more about the situation. By Junas-san, do you mean the man who just brought you here? And isn't Hachiboshi-san his daughter? I'm starting to feel a bit confused myself."

"I guess I-I didn't explain it properly. Sorry… Junas-san actually isn't related by blood to Riko-chan. He took her in when she was about four or five. He was a little bit scary at first, but he's a really good person… He takes good care of Riko-chan, and I can see why she fell in love with him.

"But he told her once she confessed to him that he wouldn't answer her until her eighteenth birthday in three years when she's an adult. He also told her that she should date other people, as he wants her to lead a normal life.

"I feel that his worry is misplaced. But it's noble, if nothing else. So she started dating me… I-I asked her on a date, and it just sort of went from there. I get the feeling she does love me. But…"

"But you worry that she's not in love with you. It's understandable. What does Junas-san say about it? How did he feel about you and Miss Hachiboshi dating?"

"H-he's alright with it… I think. I can't really feel his aura terribly well. His aura is as sharp as a sword, and at first, it felt like I was being stabbed constantly when I was around him. After a while, I shut my senses off to it. But outside the stabbing sensation, I couldn't pick up any strong emotions from him. It's hard to understand him, but he's been so kind to me that I can't help but be grateful to him.

"I do appreciate his kindness. He helped you when you needed it most. We need to do something for him in return. Can you think of anything he might like?"

"Other than a date with Riko-chan? Another katana, maybe."

"Okay, well, we can't set him up on a date with Miss Hachiboshi, and I can't afford a real katana, regardless of how good he is with them. Can you think of anything else? How about a cake?"

"Junas-san doesn't like sweets."

"Okay, that's out. Does he like reading?"

"Daddy, you're not even trying anymore, are you?" Lucy giggled. Then suddenly, she seemed nervous.

"Daddy? A-are you ashamed of me because I'm a lesbian?" Lucy asked, tears filling her pale blue eyes. Seamus looked down at Lucy, surprised at her question.

"Sweetie, o-of course I'm not ashamed of you. What has your mother been telling you?" Seamus demanded. Lucy looked away from her father, unsure of how to finish what she had said.

"I-I…" Lucy began. Her father stopped her, though, kissing her forehead gently.

"You don't need to worry, sweetie. I could never be ashamed of you. You're the best part of my life. I love you unconditionally, and nothing can ever change that. I don't know what mommy's been telling you. But nothing will change between us."

"Th-thank you, Daddy… I just…"

"You don't need to worry about anything, sweetie. Just… Be happy with who you are. I love you no matter what… Your girlfriend's here to see you."

"Riko-chan! Lucy shouted, hugging Riko tightly."

"Hey, Lucy-chan… You look really conflicted right now… Is something wrong?" Riko asked, kissing Lucy gently on the lips, ignoring the fact that her father was right in front of them. Lucy's father seemed to take the hint, and left them alone.

"M-my mommy and daddy are getting divorced. I never got along with Mommy, and… I think this is my fault. Daddy refuses to blame me for it, b-but I know it's really my fault…" Lucy sobbed, breaking down in Riko's arms. Riko held her closer to her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Don't worry, Lucy-chan… It's not your fault. Your father seems like a really nice person. Your mother is just crazy. They would have gotten divorced eventually anyway. I deliberately chose not to believe in God, because I see what religion does to people.

"It's caused a good number of the wars in history. It's caused people to commit horrible deeds, whether because they believe that their religion is right, or because they believe someone else's is wrong. The Inquisition, the Crusades, the Salem Witch Trials, the Holy Wars. These all happened because nobody was willing to admit that it's alright to be different."

"Riko… I-I didn't know you were an Atheist, too…"

"Really? I thought it was pretty obvious. Ah, well… You learn something new every day. And remember that I love you, Lucy."

"But, what about Junas-san?" Lucy asked, still confused. Riko giggled.

"I do love Junas-nii. I love him more than anyone in the world. I want to spend my life with him. But I love you, too. You seem to think that because I'm in love with Junas, that it means I can't be in love you as well. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

"I thought I could never love anyone like I love Junas-nii… I also thought that I was only attracted to men. A few girls have asked me out when I was in middle and high school. I always said no, because I thought I was straight. I had no problem with lesbians. But I never was one. And I'm not. I'm bisexual."

"Riko-chan… How did you get to be so charming and convincing. I feel like you could change the world if you wanted to. But I also feel like your time is wasted on someone like me."

"Lucy-chan… My time is _not_ wasted on you. I've had more fun with you than I ever had in my life. And I know Junas-nii isn't good at showing his emotions… But he cares about you, too… Hi, Amagi-san…" Riko said cheerfully as the red haired man came up behind them.

"Hello, Miss Hachiboshi. How do you do this fine day? How is Miss Fleet? I see she is still slightly uncomfortable around me. It is to be expected, I suppose" Miroku asked with a good natured smile, looking slightly sad that Lucy was so uncomfortable. He seemed tired, though, stressed, like he wasn't at his best.

"Lucy-chan is doing fine. Are you alright, Miroku? I'm sorry about Lucy-chan. She's… getting better at using her aura detection." Riko asked. Miroku nodded.

"Good, I'm glad. I'm just a little tired these days. Ami-chan just had children. Twins, actually. One boy and one girl, and they both have psionic powers. I'm happy, I suppose. But it's not easy caring for children. Their abilities are quite powerful."

"I can imagine. Congratulations, though. I'd love to meet your kids sometime." Riko said cheerfully. Ami giggled.

"Of course. Mirokun has told me good things about you. Maybe you could babysit the kids sometime… Is it true that you have psychic powers as well?" Ami whispered. Riko laughed.

"Did Miroku tell you that? Yes. I have kind of an unusual power… I can bring life to my drawings and my thoughts. I can't show you here. Junas-nii would scold me for using them in public. People still haven't gotten over the whole WISE incident."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Ami said cheerfully, seeming not to get the implication involved in what she just said.

"Wait… I thought you said you didn't have any psychic powers!" Miroku said suspiciously. Ami giggled.

"It takes two to lie, Mirokun. One to lie, and one to listen. I'm surprised that someone as powerful as you didn't detect my psionic powers. I'm not exactly a powerhouse like you. But I have some minor Rise and my main power is psychic intuition. At best my Rise can break a concrete wall. I'm trying to improve it, though."

"But when did you get psionics?" Miroku demanded. Ami giggled again.

"I've had it for years. How do you think I'm so strong? Certainly, a good amount of it is my own training. But years of meditation opened up parts of my brain that I never thought possible. At first, it scared me. But then I went on the internet and learned that lots of people had the same type of powers that I had.

"I looked up that Ageha Yoshina and Sakurako Amamiya and they won the 500 million yen from Tenjuin Elmore for solving the Psyren mystery. The article said that they also had psionic powers. So I met up with them one day. Such nice people. Then they showed up at our wedding."

"I-I see… You said your ability was psychic intuition. There's another psychicer that I know of that has a power similar to that."

"Yes. Kabuto Kirisaki. His power isn't exactly the same as mine. But they are similar enough that we had something to talk about. He started flirting with me the minute I met him, though."

"Hmm… He must not be aware that you're married to the dread Amagi Miroku… I'll have to have a little chat with him… Remind him just who I am."

"No need. I told him I was married, and that my husband would likely not be as forgiving as I was. He stopped. We're still working together on my powers.

"Mirokun… You know, I'm sure my father would be happy to have you in his karate classes. You'd… Just have to watch out for your Rise. You don't want to accidentally kill someone with it."

"I promise I won't. I haven't really used my psychic powers since that day all those years ago. Do you remember? The sunrise in Shikibara Park?"

"Of course I remember, Mirokun. It was the first time you really seemed happy since I met you." Ami said happily, kissing Miroku, and taking his hand.

"We actually have to get going… We'll probably see you again pretty soon. Only so many places you can be in a city."

"See you later, Miroku…" Riko said cheerfully. Lucy waved goodbye shyly to the two of them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"I must confess, Doctor… I'm a little worried… I know I said that I would be happy if Riko ended up with someone else… But…"

"But now you're feeling jealous of Riko's relationship with Lucy… It's understandable. You've told her how you feel about her. She's still dating Lucy.

"Is it that you feel that she doesn't love you like she did before?"

"No… I can tell she still has feelings for me. But her feelings for Lucy are becoming stronger. She loved Lucy probably as much as she loves me. And I should be happy for her. Does this feeling of anger and jealousy make me a bad person?"

"Of course not. Humans are jealous creatures by nature. You need to assess the source of this jealousy. You need to understand why you are feeling jealous and confront it in a healthy, constructive manner. If you don't, you could end up hurting yourself or someone else. Look inside yourself and think about why you don't like the fact that Riko loves Lucy."

"Well… I-I can't stand the thought of losing her. It scares me, the thought of being alone… Again. You see, back when I was a Grigori subject… Well, I can barely remember my life before that, but the Grigori Project was horrifying. They performed horrible experiments on me. The scientists saw me as scarcely more than a lab rat with a special power. I was only as important as my powers. I was essentially alone.

"That caused me to retreat inward, and become hostile and dangerous. I hated them. I hated the therapist that was there. I hated people in general. I had seen the worst that humanity had to offer, and I felt like all humans were like that. Was that true? Of course not. But my misanthropy had caused me to truly hate all humans, and to want to kill them, to destroy everything.

"That was why Amagi Miroku's WISE project appealed to me so much. But then, I met Riko. She was so kind and innocent. She saw me as a friend because I saved her, and said that I wouldn't take away her drawing pad. She called me her friend… She was the first friend I'd ever had to my knowledge… And now, the thought of losing her terrifies me. I could end up all alone again, surrounded by strangers and realizing that once again, I live in an ice cold world where I hate everyone."

"Junas, you said something very important just there. You're afraid. Fear causes people to do terrible things. But if you can confront that fear, you can overcome it, and be stronger in the long run. I can't tell you how you should overcome your fears. That's for you to work out. But I can say that I'm sure whatever you decide will make you a better person. Now, our session is just about over. Stay strong."

"Riko-chan! Riko-chan!" Junas yelled, running into the apartment and slamming the door behind him. Suddenly, Riko shot up from the couch. She had been sleeping, and yawned, blinking groggily, looking at Junas, waiting for his face to come into focus. When it finally did, she smiled sleepily at him.

"Hey, Junas-nii… How did…"

"I need to talk to you, Riko-chan… I'm sorry I woke you up."

"You don't need to worry about anything, Junas-nii… I love you, and I have no intention of leaving you… You've seemed edgy for days now, and I made mental contact briefly, and realized that you were scared about my relationship with Lucy taking me away from you.

"I am in love with Lucy-chan…" Riko said, pausing, causing Junas' breath to catch in his throat, finding that the wind had been driven from his lungs.

"But I'm also in love with you, Junas-nii… You're my first love. Nobody can take that away. Nobody can change that." Riko said, gently cupping Junas' cheek and kissing him tenderly on the lips.

"Don't be so insecure, Nii-chan…" Riko finished.

"I can't help being insecure. If you knew what Grigori had been like, you'd know why I can't help being insecure."

"Well… You never told me anything about Grigori. You've only ever said that you attained your current level of power from being a part of the Grigori Project. Maybe you could tell me about it?" Riko said, snuggling up next to Junas and hugging him tightly, not failing to notice Junas's heavy blush.

"Well, this was more than ten years ago… I was a part of the second Grigori Project. There was a First Grigori Project in which Grigori #1 was the most successful experiment. Do you remember Grana? The extremely muscular man with powerful telekinesis? There was also Uranus, known as Grigori #3.

"You see, to avoid seeing us as human beings with whom to be empathized and understood, we were given numbers instead of names. After all, how can you care about or love a number, right? It also didn't hurt that the scientists were fairly short of scruples and empathy in the first place. They performed horrible, painful and humiliating experiments on us. They prodded us, they electrocuted us and kept us in cages with helmets on that kept us from utilizing our psychic powers.

"It was Amagi Miroku who managed to manipulate one of the scientists, a psychologist whose name I never bothered to learn, to release him from his helmet… Just for one night so that he could sleep properly. In that moment, Miroku destroyed the entire lab and killed all the scientists except for the psychologist with whom he had formed something of a bond.

"But due to the horrible, inhumane experiments, and the way we were treated, we became withdrawn, hostile, even sociopathic on some level. Any feelings or emotions that we may have had before were gone, replaced only by hatred and contempt for humans and a desire for freedom. So, I was treated as an animal for years. So tell me again how I shouldn't be insecure, Riko-chan.

"Don't misunderstand. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, and I want you to be happy. If Lucy is the one who makes you happy, I understand. I've always felt that you deserved better than me. But… Perhaps in my own selfishness, I kept you with me so that I wouldn't get lonely." Junas muttered, fighting back tears, and finding that he was failing.

"Junas-nii… A-are you… Crying?" Riko asked, shocked to see Junas appearing so vulnerable. Even when he was at his least guarded, he never cried. He never let anyone see his vulnerable side. Even Riko only caught tiny glimpses of him being any less than completely unassailable. So seeing him actually crying was shocking and slightly frightening.

The inherent implication was that this was more painful for Junas than he could handle alone. Riko hugged him tightly, finding that there were tears in her eyes as well.

"Please don't cry, Junas-nii… I-if you really want me to, I-I'll break up with…"

"No! I can't let my own selfishness dictate your life. I won't allow that. I should never have had this conversation with you. I'm ashamed that I've guilted you into doing anything."

"Nii-chan, what are you talking about?"

"Leave me alone!" Junas screamed angrily, slapping Riko hard, sending her tumbling to the floor. For a moment, he was breathing heavily, seeing only red. But then suddenly he realized what he had done. He stood up jerkily and suddenly, storming out of the apartment, feeling worse than ever.

Out on the sidewalk, he was moving along as quickly as he could without running. He was in a really bad mood right now. He hadn't even remembered to lock the apartment door. Normally, that was a habit for him, though it wasn't necessary since Riko was home along with Lucy.

He stormed angrily, his teeth grinding against each other. He never ground his teeth. It just wasn't something he did.

 _I hit Riko-chan… I-I hit Riko-chan… I-I can't believe what I've done! How could I? How dare I d-do something like that!?And I spoke so rudely to her… Sh-she must… H-hate me now!_

His hands were clenching, and he found himself unsuccessfully trying to fight back tears. This time, though, his tears were angry and scared. The next moment, before he even thought about it, he turned around and kicked a young man hard in the stomach, sending him flying. The young man had been trying to steal his wallet.

This hadn't been what he needed. He needed to walk off his bad mood, not get into a fight. The young man pulled a gun, terrified now of Junas, who had displayed a strength the man would have thought impossible. Junas moved quicker than the man could get it out though, grabbed his wrist and broke it, dislocating his arm in one move, kicking him in the head and spitting on him.

"If you want to keep that hand, you'll let go of my fucking wallet and get your sorry ass out of my sight!" Junas snarled. The man gasped and threw the wallet at Junas, terrified even more now and ran away at full tilt. Junas groaned and sat down on the nearest bench, feeling completely helpless. He had never felt this weak in his life. What was he supposed to do. His sudden impulse was to call Doctor Yoshimiya.

"Hello? Hello!? P-please! Please pick up the phone! I'm having a s-serious crisis here! GODDAMNIT! PICK UP THE FUCKING PHONE, YOU COCKSUCKER!" Junas screamed at the answering machine. Finally, the phone picked up.

"Doctor Yoshimiya's office. I apologize for not picking up immediately. How can I help you?" Came a soft, soothing female voice. Junas breathed deeply, practicing the deep breathing that Yoshimiya had taught him almost a year ago. He never got this seriously enraged, though, or this badly stressed out. So he never needed to use it before.

"I-I r-r-really n-need to talk t-to Doctor Yoshimiya… I-I have to admit, I'm really kind of freaking out right now! I really need his help…" Junas shuddered, clutching himself tightly to try to protect himself.

"It seems like Doctor Yoshimiya has a free slot in about ten minutes. Are you able to make it by then?"

"I-I-I'll be there! Goodbye!" Junas yelled, jumping up and moving away at full tilt toward the office.

When he got there about seven minutes later, having used a small amount of Rise to move faster than humanly possible, he ran all the way up the stairs to blow off some steam. He looked at his watch. He still had three minutes to wait. They seemed to go agonizingly slow. When Yoshimiya finally came out, and saw Junas again, he looked at him, seeing the fear and anger in his eyes.

"Please, come in, Junas… You're back so soon." Came Yoshimiya's gentle, calming voice. Tears were flowing freely down Junas's cheeks, now.

"I-I… W-what is…"

"Calm down, Junas… Close your eyes, breathe deeply and count backwards from 100 by intervals of 6. When you get to 0, or when you're feeling calm, we can speak. Whichever comes first." Yoshimiya said quietly. Junas nodded, unknitting his brow, taking deep breaths, and beginning at 100… 94… 88… 82… 75… 69… 63…57…"

Junas breathed in deeply again, feeling nominally better.

"I… I'm having a crisis. I'm afraid that my own selfishness… I-I was talking to Riko-chan about… Well, she's a very perceptive young woman, and she knew I was upset. And her Trance powers are getting better. She knew I was afraid of losing her.

"We were talking, and I told her about Grigori, and… I actually cried. I never cry. This was the first time I cried since before I went into the Grigori project… And… I'm afraid that I made Riko think that she had to break up with Lucy to make me happy… Suddenly, that same monster that I used to be was right there in the room again… I-I hit her… I slapped Riko and left.

"It's good that I did leave… I-if I hadn't… I-I might have killed her! I-I can't trust myself anymore! I can't be around anyone I love! I can't let myself hurt anyone!"

"Junas…"

"Y-yes?"

"Stop yelling. You were right to leave after you hit her. You can go back and make it right with her later. For right now, you need to begin to try to understand why you got so angry at her… Don't scoff about it. How can you fix a behavior if you don't understand the behavior or its cause?"

"Well… I-I was talking to her, and I was crying… And she thought she needed to break up with Lucy! I don't want that for her! I don't want her life to revolve around making me happy…"

"So you were angry that she thought you expected that of her?"

"NO! I-I was angry at myself! I was angry that I had given her that impression… And I-I was… Oh, god! I was angry when I realized it was true! That had been what I had been expecting of her! Only subconsciously, but then I realized that my subconscious desire to keep Riko-chan to myself had caused such trouble for her! I-I don't even know if I can look at myself in the mirror anymore!" Junas screamed, slamming his fist down on the desk and making a long crack in it.

"Oh shit! I-I am so sorry! I promise I'll pay for that!"

"Don't worry about the desk for right now. We can deal with that later. You've hit upon something very important. You want what's best for Riko, but you also can't completely control your own selfish desires. For all humans, that's something we struggle with.

"But in your case, your selfishness came out at the worst possible time. You hurt Riko, and now you're afraid of what she'll think of you. Yes, you made a mistake. But I've been the therapist of any number of abusive fathers, husbands, boyfriends. You don't fit the mold of any type of abusive partner I've met.

"I think this really can be a one-time thing if you work on your temper. _If_ you're willing to look inside and see what's wrong. It's hard to look inside, especially when you're afraid of what's there. But it couldn't be more important.

"You're so much better than when I first met you five years ago. You're not as angry, as violent or as brooding. But, like many people, you do have a ways to go. You can't do it on your own, and I think Riko's presence has brought out feelings in you that you thought… Or perhaps that you hoped were dead. They were just buried, and now you need to learn to control them.

"But I only had a short space open. Take this book and read it. You can keep it if you like. Maybe it will help you. So I need to end our meeting here for now. Come back in a week and tell me how it's going."

"I-I promise."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

As Junas got to his apartment's front door, Lucy walked out, seeming slightly off.

"Lucy… Is something wrong?" Junas asked. Lucy sighed.

"I broke up with Riko… I love her, and she says she can love more than one person. But that doesn't work for me. Oh, and if you ever hit her again, I'll use your sword to skewer you like Vlad the Impaler."

"If I ever hit Riko-chan again, I'll give you the sword to do it and stand still while you skewer me." Junas said miserably, walking in past Lucy and looking at Riko, who had an expression lingering between pain and confusion.

"Riko-chan… I-I know I can never make up for hitting you like I did… And I know nothing I say can make it alright, but… I'm s-so sorry…" Junas muttered, his eyes bloodshot from crying. Riko looked at him levelly, her expression unreadable for a moment. But then it softened, and she hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Junas… I-I'm really confused right now.

"The man I love was just angrier and more turbulent than I've ever seen him, and the girl I loved just broke up with me. Maybe her breaking up with me was for the best. I know now that I could never have broken up with her. I'm not sure what to do."

"I'm sorry I got angry at you. I was… Angry at myself for wanting you all to myself. I promise I won't try to keep you to myself anymore."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Junas. Besides, what's wrong with keeping me all to yourself. It means you love me. And I love you just as much. Maybe we could bend your little 'eighteenth birthday rule? We both know we're in love. Is that so wrong?"

"I-I just… Don't want to take it too far with you. What if I go too far and end up pushing you away. I'm not ready to accept that… Well, I'll never…"

"That's impossible. You could never push me away. I want to be with you. You want to be with me. Why are you treating that like it's a bad thing?"

"You know I can't deny you, Riko… I love you too much." Junas said, hugging Riko tightly and kissing her gently, his hands ghosting over her body. Riko gasped, trying to move closer to Junas's hands to feel him more acutely on her, but Junas continued to give her only the lightest, barest touch as his lips moved down to her neck and shoulders, slowly removing her top.

Far from being planned, this was all coming very fast. But he felt sure that they both wanted this. As her top came off, he gently fondled her small, but perfect breasts, licking her left nipple, causing her to shiver in pleasure under his touch. Junas moved them over to the wall, pinning her and thrusting lightly against her. Riko nodded and moved down, taking off Junas's pants and his boxers.

She gasped as soon as she saw his penis. It was at least 9 inches long. She was sure it was going to hurt… At least at first… But this had been what she wanted. She slowly opened his mouth, breathing softly on his penis, licking it lightly, then circling it with her tongue. Junas gasped and moaned as she moved up and down his hardened penis with her mouth, finally grasping her head and releasing his seed into her mouth.

"I love you so much, Riko-chan…" Junas said, kissing her and stroking her more gently than she ever remembered him doing in the past. This was perhaps the best moment of her life, the happiest time that she could remember since Junas saved her from the orphanage. She could feel tears flooding her eyes.

"I-I love you, too, Junas-nii… I love you more th-than I can say…" She whispered as her skirt and panties were removed by Junas as well. Junas kissed his way down, flicking her nipple with his tongue first, then leaving nips and kisses all the way down to her pussy, where he kissing her clit, his lips closing around it, sucking lightly, rolling his tongue around it and thrusting it into her opening.

Riko gasped, crying out in elation as she shuddered her orgasm.

"Oh, Junas! Th-that feels… That feels amazing!" She cried, kissing Junas again, and rubbing her hands up and down his chest, looking at him lustfully.

"Please… I-I want you inside me… Please take my first time…" Riko pleaded.

Junas was a little ambivalent, but he kissed her back, and slowly pushed into her. Riko groaned in pain as Junas buried himself inside her, breaking past her barrier. Junas could smell the blood on her. He knew that was normal, but was still a little bit concerned about her. However, she smiled at him through the tears, and told him to keep going.

Junas thrust once, moving slowly inside her, moaning at how tight she was. Riko also found that the pain that she had felt momentarily was disappearing, being replaced by overwhelming ecstasy, screaming out her orgasm, her walls tightening around Junas. Shortly, he also came inside her. He would have to get her morning after pills. They weren't as effective as condoms, but they were better than nothing.

Pulling out, Junas and Riko were both still ready to go. Junas whispered in her ear. Riko, gasping at the thought, scared, but trusting Junas, turned around. Junas kissed her again on the shoulder this time, moving to her neck and licking behind her ear as he slowly entered her ass, pushing all the way in. At first, it was like fire inside her, painful, but just like last time, her pain seemed to come with a tingling sensation that grew to a roaring flame inside her.

"Ahh! Oh, Junas! Please! H-harder! Faster! Oh, that's ssss-sso gooood…" She cried out, tears of pleasure spilling down her cheeks as she orgasmed and Junas came with her. Finally, the two collapsed to the hardwood floor, falling asleep together.

"Excuse me…" Junas said, putting morning after pills on the counter at the pharmacy. The cashier raised an eyebrow at Junas.

"Aren't you the owner of that sword dojo?" She began, but stopped midsentence, the air had suddenly become ice cold, and she felt like a thousand knives were stabbing her all over her body.

"I… I'll just… R-ring those up f-for you, sir…"

"Yes, thank you." Junas said coolly, paying the cashier and walking out without getting his change. The cashier was going to call after him, but found herself still recovering from the shock of that sudden glare of his. Junas hurried home, and gave Riko the pills, having read the label on the way, making sure he understood it.

"Riko-chan, I still think you should consider going out with other people… But… We've taken it to the next step. So I guess we're dating… I-if that's… What you want, Riko-chan… You still have another few years."

"I know… I love you, though… Doesn't that mean I should stay with you? You aren't my parent. You aren't my teacher. There's no reason that I shouldn't date you."

"I'm as good as your parent. I've been your guardian for ten years. And I'm essentially your teacher. I've taught you everything you know about martial arts.

"You've learned three different martial arts from me. I'm essentially your guardian and your teacher."

"I know, but leaving that aside, I'm in love with you. And you're in love with me. And you can't deny that you were jealous about my relationship with Lucy. She ended up breaking up with me, and that hurt. But she told me that I should go for the person that I truly love.

"And I tend to agree with her. I loved her. But you're my one true love."

"Riko-chan… You really feel that strongly about me?" Junas asked. Riko nodded. Junas hugged Riko tightly, kissing her gently on the lips.

"I love you, too, my love." Junas said, tears of joy in his eyes this time, actually smiling genuinely for once. He so rarely smiled that when he did, something must have been very right. Junas sighed.

"Junas-nii… I don't think I've ever seen you as happy as you are now…" Riko said, gently stroking Junas's cheek. Junas kissed Riko one more time and sat down with her on the couch, just sitting there, cuddling with her. There was nothing else that he would rather do, nowhere he would rather be than with his love at the moment.

"Doctor… I'm… Happier than I've ever been… But I'm afraid I've gone too far. I had sex with her! She's only fifteen! What should I do!?"

"I've told you, Junas. I can't tell you what you should do. I can only help you find your own answers. But let's look at this logically. Are you happy with the situation that you're in with her now?"

"Y-yes… But…"

"Is she happy?"

"Well, yes… But… Lucy had just broken up with her. She was understandably upset about that. So…"

"Didn't you say that she had already confessed to you before Lucy came into her life? Are you sure you aren't just overthinking this?"

"I know I'm overthinking it. But I… I'm not sure I deserve to be this happy. What if the life I'm living now is a lie?"

"What if it is? Are you unhappy with the life you have now? Besides, most would agree that everyone deserves to be happy."

"I-I'm not everybody… I've done such terrible things… I deserve none of what I have in this life. I must have cheated somehow to have all that I have. I have a successful martial arts school, and I'm opening up another one in a month in Kyoto. I have a beautiful woman who loves me. I-I'm actually happy… I-I can't for the life of me understand how I got all this. Nothing that's happened to me would lead me to believe that I could ever have this… I can't understand where…"

"I apologize for interrupting you. But I think I understand, now… Do you… Perhaps suffer from low self-esteem, depression, or maybe you've simply been taught through experience that you don't deserve any more than you had during Grigori. You were treated like an animal, abused and used, when you were there, and as a result, you came to believe that such was your lot in life.

"Perhaps spending some time just accepting your happy life with Miss Hachiboshi would help you. Now, we have to call it quits for today. I'm glad we got to have this conversation. Honestly, I feel like I've gotten to know you better in the past few months than I was able in the years before that. Have a good day, Junas…"

"I'm home…" Junas said weakly, sitting down on the couch and sighing. This had been at once the best week of his life, and the most confusing and tumultuous one. Suddenly, though, he heard Riko running out. Her feet didn't make any sound, but he could hear the wind blowing past her as she ran, leapt over the back of the couch, and sat down next to him, kissing him and embracing him tightly.

"Junas-nii! I'm so glad you're back!" Riko said, kissing Junas passionately on the lips. She did this, however, just as there was a knock on the door. Riko cursed.

"Darn… I was hoping to get laid again tonight. Guess that isn't gonna happen."

"You know, you could stand to sound a little less like a sex crazed jock…" Junas said, walking to the door and opening it.

"Hey, Amagi-san, and… Well, Amagi-san…"

"Come on, Junas-kun… Just call us Ami and Miroku… Miro-kun is one of your oldest friends…"

"Is that supposed to be a joke? He's one of my _only_ friends… Hey, I don't really have a lot of friends… I have people with whom I'm forced every day to be in contact, my students, my therapist, who by the way, still _really_ has his work cut out for him to keep me from committing a brutal homicide on one of the morons by whom I'm surrounded, and Riko-chan… Who happens to be one of the few people I actually give a shit about… Now get the fuck in my apartment and start talking…"

"Wow… You weren't kidding when you said that Jun-kun was a bit abrupt, were you, Miro-kun?"

"Call me Jun-kun again, and I'll kill you…" Junas growled under his breath, causing Ami to draw back, slightly.

"Sorry, Junas… I didn't mean to be so informal with you… I didn't know it would bother you…"

"No, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have snapped at you. Please… C-come in…" Junas said, his face warping in a smile that made it look more like he was in intense pain than anything else. It was actually kind of scary.

"Wow… You've got quite an apartment, here, Junas… And quite a fetching young lady to stay with in it…" Ami said, winking flirtatiously at Riko, who smiled awkwardly at Ami.

"Don't take her too seriously, Miss Hachiboshi… She's likely to flirt with you whether you're a man or a woman. She doesn't mean anything by it… At least… Not in my experience."

"Oh, you know there's only one man for me, Miro-kun…"

"What!? Who is he!? Is he taller than me!?" Miroku asked jokingly, even causing Junas to laugh. Ami stopped laughing suddenly at Junas's bizarre laugh. He had a strange, almost bizarre cackle, that, although slightly unnerving, was terribly infectious, leading the rest of the room to start laughing as well.

"Junas-nii… I didn't even know you could laugh… You never laugh…" Riko said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… Pfft… It's just hard to believe that we're living such normal lives, now… I _never_ thought I would have a normal life… Even when Miroku recruited me for his plan, I was kind of depressed… I kind of wanted to just lead as normal a life as I could…

"I keep waking up, now, thinking all of this was a dream, and that I'm still in Grigori. Then, I see Riko, slap myself to make sure, then go back to sleep…"

"Awww! That's so sweet!" Ami said, going to hug Junas. Junas twisted around and pointed his Heaven Blade at her, though.

"Touch me, and you'll be mincemeat in two seconds flat… And I don't even know what mincemeat is!"

"Whoa! S-sorry… C-c-couldn't you have just… You know… A-asked me not to hug you? Wouldn't that have been easier? Riko-chan… Let's let these two talk for a while. We can go in the other room. Miro-kun seems to know the territory with Junas-san, anyway…" Ami said, taking Riko's hand and going into the other room with her.

"Your… Boyfriend is still a little bit unstable, isn't he?" Ami asked, still shaken from having her life threatened.

"What!? No! He just doesn't like strangers suddenly trying to touch him! Would you like it if someone just came up to you on the street and hugged you?"

"Well… No, but I also wouldn't threaten their life because of it. I happen to be able to defend myself. Not as well as Miro-kun, but he's been teaching me… Does your boyfriend just have haphephobia, or something like that?"

"I don't think so… What's haphephobia?" Riko asked innocently. Ami giggled.

"An irrational fear of being touched, or of touching others. It's often brought on by a traumatic event in the past. The person may or may not remember the specific event that brought on the haphephobia, but still can't shake the hatred of physical contact."

"Well… Junas was terribly abused in the Grigori Project, and he hardly ever talks about it.

"When I ask him more about it, he always gets this scary look on his face, and he goes all tense, and clenches his fists, and then goes out for a 'walk'. He's usually home within three or four hours. After that, we don't talk about it, anymore."

"You seem very well attuned to his changes in mood. I think you're probably the best thing that's ever happened to Junas-san. I sense a lot of anger and pain inside of him.

"I don't know specifically what happened to him, but it almost hurts to be near him. He… Feels a lot like Miro-kun… Miro-kun can be very kind and gentle, but sometimes, he just goes into these fugue states, where he just sits there, and I could yell his name at the top of my lungs, and he wouldn't hear me. Sometimes, they last five minutes, sometimes they last all day. I get a little bit worried about Miro-kun, sometimes.

"I'm afraid he'll hurt someone else… Or worse, himself…" Ami said, feeling a tear sliding down her cheek

"Please tell me… Was Junas in the same project as Miro-kun?" She asked. Riko sighed.

"Yes. They were both wards of the government for a while, so to speak. They were more akin to science projects… From the little that Junas-nii has told me, they would perform cruel experiments to force their psychic powers to greater heights. After a time, they had the right to refuse, and Junas-nii completely retreated within himself, only ever coming out of his mind to curse at the doctors or give them a dirty look.

"Apparently, they kept Mirokun compliant by giving him fake letters from his 'parents', which were just letters that the head doctor wrote. Mirokun eventually found out, and guilted the psychiatrist into removing the helmet that sealed their powers just for one night, the night they designated as his birthday, and he went rogue. He killed all the scientists except for the psychiatrist, and of course, the other psychics. Did you know…"

"That Miro-kun has a twin sister? Yes. I did. I haven't met her… She didn't even come to our wedding… Some sister… Did she think she was too good for her little brother? I think Mirokun was hurt that she didn't come."

"Really? The dread Amagi Miroku was hurt that his sister stood him up at his wedding?"

"I'm not surprised. He had a bit of a falling out with her. It sounds like the men are finishing up, though. I think we should get going. Junas didn't even really want us here in the first place."

"Listen, Junas-san… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, and I'm sorry if I ruined your night with Riko… We'll leave, now…" Ami said.

"We have to get back to our son. He's discovering his psychic powers, and his babysitter can never keep him entertained for too long. We can tell that he's going to be powerful like his father. Have a good night."

"You as well…" Junas said, walking over to the door with them, and opening it, shutting it as they walked out. After that, Junas sat down on the couch, kissing Riko, glaring at her, once.

"You had no business telling her all that about my time with the Grigori Project… But… Strangely, I'm not upset." Junas said, kissing her again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"Who should we invite to our wedding, Saku-chan?"

"Don't call me that, Ageha… And we need to invite Miroku and Ami… They invited us to their wedding. I guess we should invite your father… He is your father, after all… And your sister… My parents would probably be offended if I didn't invite them… Of course, they'll probably find a way to weasel out of going…"

"We should invite Junas and Riko, and her girlfriend…"

"And the Tenjuin kids, and Elmore, and Matsuri-sensei…"

"And Kagetora… and of course Matsuri. Kagetora'd kill me if I didn't invite him to our wedding…" Ageha said nervously.

"Hmm… Can you think of anyone else, Ageha?" Sakurako asked, biting on the eraser of a pencil while she was thinking.

"There are a few other Psychicers that I can think of, but aren't really our friends… But they did help us save the world… I feel like it would be wrong not to invite them." She said, adding Lan, his sister, and Haruhika, and all the others they mentioned.

"We can't forget Hiryu, Oboro, and Kabuto." Ageha said, thinking with a smirk of what Hiryu would say when he got there. They actually hadn't seen each other in a while. But they were still pretty close.

"Hey, sis… Been a long time… How's everything going? I heard you've got a new boyfriend… Is he here?" Ageha asked, cringing at having to wear a suit. He knew it was appropriate for a wedding, especially his.

"Yeah… Hey, Ian! Get in here!"

"Yeah, yeah… Fubuki… Hey, Ageha… 'S'been a while, huh?" Ian asked. Ageha nodded. He knew this would happen. It was foretold, to some degree, or rather, she had gotten together with Ian in the other future. Ageha heard the music starting. He and Sakurako had to dance first. He hated dancing, but he had gone to classes so that he wouldn't step on her feet again.

The two went up to the dance floor, and started off the ceremony. In fact, Sakurako's father hadn't been at the wedding at all. Sakurako sighed. She had long given up trying to get her parents to care about her. Matsuri gave her away at the wedding. She even wore a suit to the altar. It was an ironic turn of events.

She grabbed Ageha, and said that if he cheated on Sakurako, that she would personally take away his man card… And by that, she meant that she'd literally turn him into a soprano. Sakurako couldn't help but laugh at this. The dance ended, and they exited the floor, and the party began in earnest. Riko was one of the first people to come up to Sakurako.

"Hey, Sakura!" Riko said, pronouncing her name very incorrectly. Sakurako moved over a seat, and Riko sat down.

"Hey, Riko-chan… My name is actually Sakurako… How's your girlfriend doing? She was pretty sick at Miroku's wedding… Is she feeling better?"

"Yes. Lucy is going to weekly sessions with Ian-san at your sister-in-law's house. Ian isn't happy about it. But he promised Matsuri-sensei… So, yeah… But she broke up with me… Over a month ago."

"Oh… You seemed so close… What… No, it's not my business… I'm so sorry…"

"Oh, it's alright… I'm with Junas-nii, now… And I've never been happier… My aura is glowing brighter than ever…"

"I'll take your word for it."

"Sakurako… Can I ask you a personal question?" Riko asked. Sakurako nodded hesitantly.

"How did you get so beautiful?" Riko asked bluntly. Sakurako blushed slightly.

"Oh, my… Um… I… I don't even wear makeup… I'm not sure how to answer that. I don't do anything…"

"Lucky! That's so not fair! I wish I could be as beautiful as you are without even trying! Geez, some women are just born lucky…" Riko huffed.

"But, Riko-san… You're incredibly beautiful. What's wrong? Having a problem with Junas? I'm not sure I can help you. I take lessons at his school, but I don't really know him that well."

"Liar! He says you're one of his best students! He says…"

"Riko-chan… Stop bothering the bride… Hello, Yoshina-san… I apologize for Riko-chan…" Junas said stoically. Sakurako shook her head.

"No, not at all. Thank you for coming to my wedding…" She said quietly. Riko looked at Junas, who nodded and walked off.

Riko looked carefully at Sakurako, who felt like the young woman was staring right into her soul.

"Something's wrong, Saku-chii… What is it?"

"What!? N-nothing's wrong! What could be wrong! It's the happiest day of my l-life!" She protested. Riko shook her head, though.

"Ah-ah! You're lying… You're upset about something… You haven't even told that idiot of a husband, yet. I bet you don't want to bother him with your own worries. You seem like the kind of person who will keep it bottled up until you explode, and still never say a word. Please tell me… Girl to girl…"

"Well… N-no… It's nothing… I'm fine…" Sakurako said, tears beginning to sting her grey eyes. Riko sighed and hugged Sakurako tightly.

"You shouldn't keep it in. You're going to get sick if you don't talk to someone. It doesn't have to be me, but maybe some therapy would help. Here, this is my Junas-nii's therapist. I'm sure he could help you… But only if you talk to him."

"You're… Very kind, Riko-san. I don't want to waste his time, though…"

"It's not a waste of time if you're upset about something. People have friends because they need people to talk to. What good is having friends if they're not there to help them when they're in times of need. I can go demand that Ageha sit and listen to you. But he's talking to the muscley dude…"

"No! I-I'm just upset that my parents couldn't even take the time to come to my wedding… They didn't have to stay for the reception, but they could have at least watched me on the biggest day of my life… My father was supposed to be the one to give me away to Ageha… And I'm glad that Matsuri-sensei did that. I'm honored that she's such a good friend… But…"

"But you're distressed that your parents seem to care so little that they couldn't even take an hour out of their lives for you."

"Hey, Sakurako… Are you alright?" Ageha asked, walking over and sitting down, putting a hand on Sakurako's shoulder.

"I… I just wanted my parents to come to the wedding… Is it so wrong to want parents who love you? Your dad loves you. He has an odd way of showing it. But he clearly does. My parents couldn't even take an hour out of their schedule to see me get married. I know Dad doesn't like you, but that's no excuse. Even Grigori #7 came. She's just sitting in the corner, but she was nice enough to come.

"What do I have to do to get my parents to love me! Save their lives personally!? I saved the fucking world!" Sakurako yelled. In that moment, Ageha could see a flicker of Abyss in her. He hadn't seen it in years, but her hurt and rage at her parents was causing her violent, vicious personality to resurface.

 _"Yoshina. Yoshina… Take a deep breath… Synchronize your thoughts and breathing with mine. You would not want to hurt anyone at your own wedding, would you? I sense that your hatred and rage are dangerously close to erupting. Your stress is at a peak."_ #7 said telepathically, smiling vaguely and mysteriously at Sakurako, who sighed, and breathed deeply.

"I apologize, everyone. The planning for this has been… More stressful than I expected it to be. Please, don't mind me…" Sakurako said, loudly enough to be heard, but her voice shaking because of her irritability. Ageha sighed and took his cell phone out of his pocket, dialing Sakurako's parents.

"Hello? Amamiya Yukio… How may I help you?"

"Amamiya-san… It's Ageha… Listen, I know you don't like me. I know your husband doesn't like me either, but…"

"I don't dislike you. Nor does Akira…"

"Then please, _please…_ Come to the reception… Even if you only stay half an hour… Sakurako's really upset. She won't admit it to you, because she's given up on you… Have you given up on her?" Ageha asked in sort of a challenging manner.

"Never…"

"Then come to the reception… Everyone makes mistakes. Don't keep making the same ones over and over."

"I will speak with Akira about it. If we do come, we will be there within the half-hour… Thank you for telling me…"

"Akira… Come on… She's your daughter… Don't do this…"

"I haven't spoken to her since she told us she was engaged to that reprobate, Ageha…"

"He isn't a reprobate. He's a police officer, and he was in the Japanese Special Forces. That's a pretty distinguished life…"

"But he was such a hoodlum as a kid…" Akira said helplessly, still being pulled into the reception. Sakurako looked up as she heard them arguing, tears flooding her grey eyes, and running over to them, not really caring much about propriety.

"Hello, Sakurako-chan… We're sorry that we've neglected you for so long. We _are…_ Akira…" Yukio said forcefully.

"Hello, Mrs. Amamiya… I guess you and your husband are my parents in law… So I really should say that it's nice to see you here, but that would be a lie… You've been really crappy parents… But I imagine you know that. No matter how much you may look like Sakurako, you are _nothing_ like her, Mrs. Amamiya…" Ageha said accusingly to a rather galvanized looking Akira and Yukio. He seemed deeply offended that Ageha was accusing him so blatantly.

"I see you still haven't learned respect for your elders, Yoshina… It's hardly a surprise. With your eccentric father, your violent older sister, and no mother, you…"

"Shut up… Shut up… Right now." Ageha said quietly. "It means the world to Sakurako that you're here, even if she won't say it. So I'll leave you alone with her, before I am tempted to physically assault you… Sir…" Ageha muttered, storming off to talk to Junas, whom he was sure would understand his feelings.

"Dad, you shouldn't attack Ageha-kun like that. He's really changed a lot over the years. He's still a little temperamental, but he was there for me when I was at my weakest. I would think that as my parents you would appreciate that."

"Sweetie… You don't need to convince us to love him. If you love him, then we do." Yukio said, hugging Sakurako tightly.

"So, you promised that one day you would explain what happened all those years ago. You told us that you really were unable to tell us at the time. But you would eventually."

"Yes. Come, sit down. Do you remember the Psyren rumors? It started about ten, maybe twelve years ago. Well, eleven years ago, I got a strange red card that had Psyren written on it.

"It appeared out of nowhere, and it looked just like a normal phone card. But, my curiosity got the better of me, so I put it in the public pay phone. A mechanical sounding voice came over the line. It was distinctly feminine, but had no emotion in it. It asked me forty-nine yes or no questions. Then, it came over with uncanny insight into my mind.

"You know that your parents are emotionally absent, but you accept their gifts without questioning their motive in the hopes that you can continue to pretend they mean that they love you…

"I wasn't ready to hear that yet. I realized that she was right. But it still hurt to have to hear what I was so afraid of. Then, it asked…

"Do you want to go to Psyren? Yes or No?

"Being terrified, but morbidly curious about who could possibly have such insight into things that I couldn't even admit to myself, I said 'yes'. The woman's voice came back and said 'thank you. You will get your results soon.'

"The next day, when I was in the middle of class, I heard a ringing in my ears. I thought maybe it was you and Dad. So I asked to be excused and picked up my cell phone, and I was transported to a desolate world that only later would I learn was Psyren. I was surrounded by seven or eight other people. One of them mentioned Psyren, and wondered aloud if this would help him get the ten million yen prize that was being offered for answers to the riddle.

"That day, I was the only survivor… The rest of the group was all picked off by monstrous creatures that I learned were called Taboo. Needless to say, I hid various weapons across the city so that I would always have a sword or weapon that I could use if I needed them.

"Exhausted, and dizzy, horrified and miserable, I came back, and collapsed with a nosebleed and a raging fever. The next day, I felt better than ever, though. I went online and asked if anyone else knew about Psyren. To my amazement, a woman responded. I would later find out it was Yagumo Matsuri, the world famous pianist. She's actually here tonight.

"She explained that Psyren Gamers could never talk about Psyren to outsiders. But that we could talk about it with each other. Even though she had maxed out of the game, that is, her card had expired and she was free, she was still considered a gamer, and was still bound by the rules.

"She told me about psychic powers, and how Psyren activated them in people due to the high levels of psionic energy in the air. I'll explain all that later. I see your skepticism. But although I didn't want to believe her, she gave me a demonstration of her own telekinesis, and I couldn't deny what I had seen. Soon, Ageha and Hiryu came into the game, and we, and a few others were consistent companions.

"We continued through the game, and eventually puzzled it out. We won the ten million yen prize, and were free. Now, psychic powers. I only have modest telekinesis, but I can lift maybe twenty pounds. Watch." Sakurako said, lifting her mother's purse off her shoulder and putting it in her own hand, then putting it back on her mother's shoulder.

"Oh, my God! Sakurako… H-how…"

"It's my Psi… Well, my lesser Psi. I'm actually a telepath, by and large. I can communicate with telepathy. I can also, to a lesser degree, enhance my physical abilities. That is why I needed a katana or some other weapon when I went to Psyren. My ability to fight was relatively limited. Ageha's was less limited. He had excellent Rise, and even more powerful Burst.

"We learned about an organization called WISE, and how they wanted to first destroy the world, and then usher in a new one, ruled and populated solely by Psychicers, and about Nana… She's the young woman over there with the red hair. She was the one who started the Psyren game. She also wanted answers, and was not concerned about how many people got hurt in the process.

"She could hardly be prosecuted… Especially when the explanation of her crime was so fantastic. Even if the police knew that Psychic powers existed, they could hardly conduct an investigation when anyone who was willing to talk would die and turn to dust before they could tell their story. She's a good friend of ours, now. Actually, we credit her and her brother, the young man over there… Red hair… he's with a black haired woman… with making Ageha and I realize how much we loved each other.

"It was they, and their respective games that brought us together, even if that wasn't their goal. And now, even if they don't realize it, they've brought us back together as a family. I know Ageha is unrefined, and even rude. But I really do love him, and he's saved my life more times than I can count in and out of the Psyren world."

"But… What _is_ Psyren? Is it actually an alternate reality?"

"Well… Yes and no. It is an alternate reality, now. One that never came to be. But ten years ago, Psyren was merely the real world… Ten years in the future. WISE and Amagi Miroku destroyed the entire world using Ouroboros, the comet that hit earth ten years ago to completely eradicate human governments.

"But Ouroboros was only a harbinger. It foretold the coming of something much worse. Mithra, a human psychicer took Ouroboros and swallowed what was inside it, and planned for ten years in the future when Quat Nevas, a planet eating entity from deep space could be called to Earth, brought in by the high level of psionic particles in the air from our final battle.

"I know, it sounds so clichéd, doesn't it. But it all happened. And you may not believe me. There's really no way I can prove it, since the only people who can tell you the story firsthand are friends of mine. But… this all happened… And as tragic as it could have been, I'm happy that it did, because Ageha and I are together, now." Sakurako finished, tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks.

"I believe you. It's no more fantastic than the possibility of magic powers… If I can believe that, which, given what you've shown me, you clearly possess… Then I really have to accept this whole story."

"Thank you, Mom. I'm… Happy to have you and Dad back in my life."

"We're happy to be in your life. I was afraid that you wouldn't want us back after all these years of neglecting you. It's… Hard to accept that you've made such a colossal error in hurting your own child like we did."

"All is forgiven." Sakurako said, hugging her mother and father tightly.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"Riko Hachiboshi, do you swear to speak the full truth as you know it?" The lawyer asked. Riko responded in the affirmative.

"Very well. Then, you have met Mrs. Fleet before, correct?" He asked politely.

"Yes, sir."

"And, how did you find her?"

"She was… Bizarre. She compulsively quoted scripture, like Margaret White."

"For… Those of us who don't understand your literary references, who is Margaret White?"

"She was the mother of Carrie in Stephen King's horror novel, Carrie. She was completely insane, and abusive, both mentally, physically and emotionally."

"And, do you think this describes Mrs. Fleet well?" The lawyer asked. Riko nodded.

"Yes. Lucy was terrified of her mother."

"Objection. Can the witness read minds?"

"I think Miss Hachiboshi would understand her own girlfriend's state of mind."

"Objection overruled." The judge said.

"Tell me, what leads you to understand that Miss Fleet was frightened of her mother?"

"Well, one day when I went over to her apartment, Mrs. Fleet began screaming at her, quoting scripture, telling her that she was going to go to Hell for being a lesbian. She was lucky, Lucy was, that Mrs. Fleet didn't assault her."

"Thank you. Your witness."

"You… Left something out of that testimony, didn't you, Miss Hachiboshi. You then assaulted Mrs. Fleet, didn't you? Do you consider yourself a violent person?"

"No sir. I did assault Mrs. Fleet, but only to protect Lucy-chan."

"But you've… Been in more than one fight in the past, correct? What about that fight at your school? You assaulted a young man because he was flirting with you. You… Dislocated his shoulder, didn't you?"

"Yes. I did. I turned him down, and he grabbed my shoulder. I felt threatened by him, so I responded with what I felt was an appropriate level of force to avert the threat presented to me. He was known for being a bully, and did not seem willing to take no for an answer."

"But that isn't the only fight you got into, was it? You put a young man in the hospital once, didn't you?"

"Yes. I did. He was about to sexually assault a woman. I merely responded as best I could."

"But… The best of your ability is quite impressive, isn't it? You're a third degree black belt in one martial art, a second degree black belt in another, and master belts in two sword styles. So, would it be fair to say that armed or unarmed, you're a deadly opponent?"

"I suppose so, but…"

"Thank you."

"Redirect, Your Honor. So, Miss Hachiboshi… You're only violent when you're defending others, correct?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. Nothing further."

Riko sat outside the courtroom, waiting for the verdict. Finally, Lucy came out and hugged Riko tightly, kissing her once, then smiling, tears flooding her blue eyes.

"My dad got full custody of me! Thank you so much!"

"I'm happy I was able to help." Riko said, blushing awkwardly.

"I-I have to go…"

"No, please wait! I-I never wanted to stop being friends… I… Please wait, Riko-chan!"

"No, _you_ wait!" Junas growled, his eyes narrowing furiously. Suddenly, Lucy gasped, feeling like she did the first time she met Junas, like a million white hot blades were stabbing her over and over again.

"You availed yourself of our hospitality. You had no problem doing that! You had no problem letting Riko-chan protect you from your psychotic mother! You had no problem living with us when you had no home. But then, as soon as your dad comes back, you break up with Riko-chan, and now you're trying to be friends with her again! You hurt Riko-chan!

"She testified for you at the trial because she promised that she would. I won't stop her from being friends with you again, but don't you dare act like nothing happened!" Junas snarled, swatting at Lucy, his telekinesis striking her from a distance, sending her flying, landing on her back, the wind being driven from her lungs.

"I-I'm… I'm sorry, Riko-chan… I-I never meant…"

"You never meant to hurt me. But you did. I still love you. I understand, though that you don't like feeling like second best. That wasn't true in the least. But I understand your point of view. Maybe we can be friends again someday. But… But not now… Lucy-chan…" Riko said gently, looking seriously at Lucy, who was beginning to cry, now. Riko took Lucy's hand and pulled her into a standing position, and left with Junas.

"I-I need to be alone, for now, Junas-nii… Please just… Just… Leave me alone…"

"Riko-chan… I'm sorry I yelled at Lucy… I was trying to help…"

"I-it wasn't your fault. You… You were trying to help… I'm not angry… I just… That one moment when I thought about rekindling my relationship with Lucy-chan… Then I realized that wasn't what she wanted…

"But that one second was enough to break my heart all over again… D-do you… Think I'm pathetic for feeling like that?"

"Not at all…I'm… Not very familiar with being in love, myself. Most of my life was spent in a self-induced emotionless state, so, when I started feeling emotions again, it was difficult, and now the emotions I feel are so strong that sometimes, it's hard to control them.

"Doctor Yoshimiya says it's good that I'm feeling these emotions, that I need to learn to control them. But, I can't blame you, or look down on you for having the same emotions I'm struggling with."

"I think it's good that you're having these feelings. I love you… And I'm glad you love me, too… I think you love me… Please tell me you don't just…"

"What? No! What kind of person do you take me for? I couldn't muster that kind of jealousy just over anyone. Riko-chan… I love you… How is school going? We haven't talked much lately. You're either busy with school, or with friends."

"Subtle… If you're going to change the subject at least be better at it." Riko giggled.

She was spending more time now with Junas than she used to. But for some reason, she wanted more. She wanted to be at the dojo with him during the day as well. Junas refused to allow that, though. He said that she needed to complete her education at least. He wasn't paying for her to go to school just so she could spend all day with sweaty men swinging swords.

He admitted that he had never had a more talented student with the possible exception of Sakurako Amamiya… Well, now her name was Yoshina. She was quite talented both with a sword, and with her fists. Ageha was highly talented with fist fighting, but not talented at all with a sword. He was still taking as many martial arts classes as Junas was willing to give him, in any martial arts form, including sword styles.

But progress was slow. Ageha was a real meathead, skilled only at beating people to a pulp. He had really found his calling in the military, then in the police force. Ageha jokingly called it the po-po… Though, Junas never had any idea what Ageha was talking about when he used that phrase. Well, he knew that it meant "police". But he had no idea how Ageha came up with it, other than that it was a bastardization of the English word for "Police".

Maybe it was some kind of slang used in America. Junas turned to Riko, seeing that she had already closed her eyes, and was reaching to hug him. Junas hugged her tightly, kissing her on the lips. Riko sighed happily as their lips made contact. There was nothing she could think that she ever wanted more than this. Even when she was a child, she had a crush on Junas, and now, she found that she was truly in love with him.

"Hi, Ageha-kun! Saku-chan!"

"Hello, Riko… Are you teaching today?"

"Yup! I have off from school, so Junas-nii is letting me teach… Saku-chan… You're having a baby!" Riko said cheerfully, her expression lighting up. Sakurako nodded, blushing slightly.

She had forgotten how perceptive Riko was. Her stomach wasn't even showing signs yet. But sure enough, she was pregnant. She couldn't wait. If it was a girl, they were going to name her Nana. After all, it was Grigori #7 who had really brought her and Ageha together. If it hadn't been for her, they may never have talked again, much less gotten together.

If it was a boy… Well, they would decide on that when the time came.

"Yeah… I'm nervous… But… Really happy…" Ageha said, his face drawn. He was clearly tired.

"Are you alright, Ageha-kun?"

"Yes…" Ageha said with a laugh. "We've just been up all night lately setting up for the baby. Sakurako wants to be ready well in advance."

"Are you here to train with Junas-nii?"

"Afraid not. I'd like to, but Sakurako and I are still looking at stuff for the baby."

"What? But it's still at least eight months away, right?" Riko asked. Ageha nodded. It still never failed to amaze him how very astute Riko was.

"Riko-chan… Don't bother them. Congratulations on your pregnancy. Do you know what you're going to call the child?" Junas asked. Ageha sighed.

"Well, if it's a girl, we'll call her Nana. If it's a boy, Miroku."

"Interesting choice. After Number Seven or Amagi Miroku?"

"Yes. Those two were the ones who really brought us together again, after all. We really owe our happiness like this to them. Ironic, isn't it?" Sakurako asked, sighing happily.

"I guess so. What if you have identical twins?" Riko asked, laughing at the looks on both their faces.

"Then, Sakurako will probably be fine, and I'll be freaking out like nobody's business. I'm hardly ready for one kid, much less two."

"You'll do fine, Ageha." Riko said, hugging Ageha tightly. Ageha sighed. Somehow, Riko had a very charismatic way about her. Maybe he would do alright as a father.

"We've gotta go. We just came to say that we wouldn't be in classes for a while."

"I understand. I wish you the best of luck." Junas said, coming over from his class, leaving a student in charge briefly.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"Hey, Junas-nii… Do you remember that time when I wouldn't talk to you for an entire week?"

"Of course I do. It was about five years ago, but I beat four boys into unconsciousness and one boy into a coma because they were sexually harassing you. Why do you ask?"

"Well… I-I want to apologize for reacting like that… I-I know you were just trying to protect me."

"No need to apologize. I overreacted. I could have talked to their parents. I could have demanded action on the part of the school. I could have helped you deal with it yourself. There were numerous ways that I could have dealt with it."

"No. I do have to apologize… I-I think that was when I realized how attracted to you I was. I was terrified by how angry and how vengeful you were at the time.

"But… It was… It was incredible to watch you swatting those boys like flies. I know, I shouldn't advocate such violence. You're lucky you weren't put in jail. But, I think I…"

"I understand. It was… A regrettable outcome." Junas said quietly, going silent, thinking about the incident.

 _Excuse me… Tsukuda-san… May I speak with Nakashima Shichirou, Inoue Hiroshi, Ikeda Minato, Yamada Toshiro, and Hamasaki Arata?" Junas asked. "They are Riko-chan's friends, correct?"_

" _Well… I do see them talking to her fairly often. I suppose so. They're usually together. They must be on the playground right now, probably playing football." Tsukada said politely._

" _Thank you."_

" _Excuse me! You look like the captain of the team. Am I correct?" Junas asked, looking at the golden patch on the boy's shirt._

" _Yes, sir. How can I help you?" the boy asked politely, bowing to Junas._

" _I need to speak with Nakashima Shichirou, Inoue Hiroshi, Ikeda Minato, Yamada Toshiro, and Hamasaki Arata… Immediately if it's possible." Junas asked, reading a slip of paper with their names on it. The boy nodded._

" _Oh, well, I'm Hiroshi. Hey! Minato! Shichirou! Toshiro! Arata! Some old man wants to talk to us!"_

 _The rest of the friends gathered around Junas, thinking that he had a strange look on his face, but not paying it much mind._

" _Hello… You know a girl named Hachiboshi Riko, correct?" Junas asked._

" _Doesn't everyone know her? Prettiest girl in school."_

" _Right. Well… As I understand you've been… How do I put this… Delicately? Harassing her… Bordering on molestation. It needs to stop. Now." Junas said bluntly._

" _What!? What's that bitch been saying about us! She's lying!" Inoue snarled angrily._

" _Hmm… Well… That sure puts my mind at ease. Right." Junas said sardonically. Suddenly, a warped look crossed Junas's face, and he grabbed Inoue by the throat, choking him with just his left hand, lifting him in the air to shocked screams from the rest of the team._

" _Junas-nii!" Riko cried, running up to him, trying to stop him, but making no headway. Junas was like stone, holding Inoue there, glaring hatefully into the small boy's eyes._

 _Junas then threw Inoue halfway across the field._

" _Next one of you that even looks in her general direction again is going to get a lot worse! Got it!?"_

" _Hey, asswipe! How dare you attack my friends!" Toshiro snapped, kicking Junas in the shin. Junas nodded, picking up the long black bag that had been on his shoulder, unzipping it and taking out a long, heavy looking black bokken, taking it in his left hand and swinging it at Toshiro's head, hitting with alarming strength and accuracy._

 _He then snapped his arm back around and struck Minato in the ankle, hearing a loud, wet cracking sound, and then striking him in the head again, sending him to the ground. Junas did similar things to the rest of the boys, then advanced on Inoue, who seemed to be the ringleader. Riko seemed to be pushing with all her strength against Junas, who continued to advance like some unstoppable juggernaut, despite the tears flooding Riko's eyes._

 _As Junas reached Inoue, he kicked him over and over again until he felt several bullets in his back and shoulders, and stopped, staring helplessly at the police._

" _Freeze!" The officer shouted. Junas turned, and faced the police officer, raising his bokken and deflecting the next two bullets, advancing on the officer. Fortunately, one of the officers managed to shoot Junas in the ankle and leg, breaking several bones, and stopping him._

"A very regrettable outcome, indeed. They all survived, but the one I put in the coma has irreparable brain damage. The others woke up within a day… I'm afraid that I made no friends in that little lesson in manners. Still, the boys never bothered you again. I feel that by and large, it was a massive success." Junas said, smirking, just as the doorbell rang.

"Who the hell could that be?" Junas demanded. Riko sighed, and stood, walking over to the door, seeing one of the four boys that they had just been talking about.

"Inoue?" She asked, perplexed that the sandy haired boy that had once been the bane of her existence was standing there, looking, if anything, terribly upset.

"Hello, Hachiboshi… I… Know you must be surprised that I'm here."

"A little. I would've thought Junas-nii's beating would've knocked some sense into you. It sure knocked some teeth out of you…" Riko laughed. "You don't need him to do it again, do you?"

"N-no! No! I… G-Grigori-san! I-I… I mean, I know the other boys aren't here… They were… Too scared to come.

"They didn't want to get beaten again by Grigori-san, and frankly, we've heard of your reputation as well, Hachiboshi. I come in everyone's name. We want to apologize for our behavior. I could say that it was because we were only ten at the time, but that's not an excuse."

"Do your parents know you're here, kid? Last I checked, the restraining orders they have against me haven't been lifted." Junas asked, approaching the door and glaring at Inoue.

"No. I came on my own. I see you're still living with your brother, Hachiboshi."

"He's not my brother. I told you that when we were ten. He was someone who took me in because of our similar conditions."

"I see. Anyway. I really do need to apologize for our behavior."

"Inoue… Please, come in. I promise Junas-nii won't hurt you. And neither will I."

"Is that a sword in that case? Like, a real sword?"

"Yes. It's, like, a real sword. I own a martial arts school. It teaches kendo, and kenjutsu. I really should apologize for beating you into a coma."

"You're sorry as well? Well, that makes this…"

"No. I'm not sorry at all. I did what I did to protect Riko-chan. You were making her miserable at school. She was talking about running away… Well, I couldn't allow that. So, as insane as it seems, I'm not sorry at all. Tell me, how long were you in a coma for?"

"Um… U-um… Only… A-a day."

"Please, Inoue, come in. Would you like some tea?" Riko asked. Inoue sighed with relief. He knew how much Junas cared about her. He had been willing to beat five elementary school children to death with a wooden sword to protect her. Perhaps that was going over the edge a bit, but nobody could claim that Junas didn't love Riko.

"Thank you, Hachiboshi…" Inoue said politely, taking the tea and sipping it, his hands still shaking slightly. Junas seemed to be keeping an eye on him, his eyes razor sharp, as though he was ready to use the real sword that he owned to dismember Inoue in an instant.

"Please, call me Riko. I forgive you for your behavior. I'm not angry."

"But… But you… You asked Grigori-san to…"'

"No! I would never ask anyone to do that to you! I would never wish that on anyone! I was upset, but… But I never wanted him to hurt you! I admit that I kind of hoped he would scare you, put the fear of God in you, but never hurt you."

"Yeah, Grigori-san is a scary guy. I'm sure he's frightened more powerful people than us with just that glare of his. Listen, Hachi… I-I mean, Riko-san… I-I think there's a misunderstanding. I didn't harass you because I enjoyed hurting you, or upsetting you… I-it was because I liked you.

"You were… You still are _so_ beautiful and graceful, and you lit up every room you were in. I don't think there was a single boy in school that didn't like you at least a little, and there wasn't a girl who wasn't at least a little bit jealous of you. You're strong and independent. You ran faster than any boy in the class, even ones that were older and taller than you. And… You stood up for everyone… Except yourself. I remember when you beat a boy down who was harassing your friend.

"You made it look so easy, and you barely broke a sweat doing it. As much as you scared people when you did that, people were intrigued by you. Attracted to you. _I_ was intrigued and attracted to you. I'm sorry that I hurt you like I did. This tea is really good."

"Thank you. It's made with fresh tea leaves. And… I'm flattered that you feel that way about me. I don't think I can return your feelings… For several reasons, but… I'm flattered that you feel that way. Thank you for coming to face me. It took a lot of courage to do that. Don't worry about Junas-nii. He won't hurt you. _Will you, Junas-nii?_ " Riko asked, glaring at Junas, whose teeth were grinding angrily.

"Of course not. If you _ever_ touch Riko-chan again… If you _ever_ harass her like you did before, I will hunt you down and I will break every bone in your body… I will grind your bones to dust." Junas growled in Inoue's ear so that only he could hear. Inoue gulped, swallowing the rest of the tea, and standing up jerkily.

"Ihavetogo! Thank you for the tea, Riko-san!" He said quickly. Riko seemed confused.

"Junas-nii! I ask you not to hurt him, so you threaten him instead!" Riko demanded angrily. Junas snarled at Inoue, who hurried his step, getting into his shoes and rushing out the door. Riko grabbed her shoes, using telekinesis to put them on, and ran out the door after Inoue. Riko had always been a very fast runner, even before she had mastered her Rise powers. But now, she could easily outpace Olympic athletes without breaking a sweat.

"Inoue! Wait!" Riko called, catching up to him, and looking him in the eye. "I'm… I'm sorry about Junas-nii's behavior. I-I can't excuse it, but please… _Please_ don't report him."

"He would get in a lot of trouble if I did, would he? Don't worry. I won't report him. Psychopath that he is, I doubt he'll hurt me unless I give him reason to. I don't doubt that he would hunt me to the ends of the earth if he thought I even looked at you funny, though.

"Guy's got a weird little crush on you, doesn't he?"

"That's more relevant than you can possibly know, but I won't talk about it. Regardless, maybe some more tea would help calm you down."

"I'm perfectly calm, Hachiboshi-san."

"Right. Your pulse is elevated, you're shaking violently, and you're pale as a sheet. Come on, I know a great tea shop. My treat." Riko said gently, leading Inoue around the corner and taking him into a quaint little tea shop.

"Riko-chan! Nice to see you again!" A plump, middle aged woman said kindly, smiling at Riko and Inoue, and taking them to a table.

"Is this your boyfriend?" She asked with a giggle.

"No!" They both said at the same time.

"Don't worry. I won't tell your brother. He always has been a bit overprotective. What can I get you two?"

"I'll get the chamomile green tea, please."

"Same, I guess." Inoue said resignedly, knowing that he was probably going to get killed in the near future. He might as well enjoy the closest thing he would ever get to a date with Riko.

"So, how are your friends doing?" Riko asked. Inoue sighed.

"Toshiro still walks with a limp, and occasionally zones out. The rest of them weren't as badly injured. Toshiro took the longest to recover. He was in a coma for two weeks, and then two years of physical and mental rehab. He's mostly normal now. I had internal bleeding. The doctors said that I was lucky to survive. They had never seen injuries quite so severe from a simple physical beating.

"Your brother is, like, superpowered, isn't he? I remember something about people with superpowers a while ago. Is he one of those freaks?"

"Junas-nii isn't a freak! You're the freak! He was trying to protect me… From you! He may have overreacted. I could have protected myself. But he acted first.

"Listen, Junas-nii is just a human, like any other human. He has his faults and his shortcomings, but if you knew him like I do, you'd know how far he's come. He used to be a monster. I know this. But… Imperfect as he is, he's a good person, now."

"Now? You mean he wasn't a good person before? I'm shocked." Inoue said sarcastically.

"Hey, fuck you! If you hadn't been sexually harassing me, he would never have had to assault you!" Riko snarled heatedly, pounding her fist on the table, accidentally cracking the linoleum."

"Hm… Well, I've seen and heard enough… Don't worry Hachiboshi… I won't tell anyone about your freaky boyfriend's abilities. I don't think anyone would care, anyway."

Riko growled furiously, putting down far more money than the tea probably cost, and stormed out, enraged now, finding herself back at the apartment before she even realized it, grabbing a bokken and going to Junas, demanding that they spar. Junas nodded and grabbed a bokken of his own and followed Riko to the dojo, where they went inside and started practicing.

Almost immediately, even before Junas could bow, Riko attacked viciously, striking much harder than was necessary, splintering the bokken within three strikes.

"Riko! Riko… What's wrong? Did something go wrong with Inoue? Did he harass you again?"

"No… Seriously, he didn't. He insulted you. He called you insane and called you a freak."

"Well… I don't know about freak, but if someone saw what I did to those boys, they might also say I'm insane."

"It's not funny!" Riko raged. Junas sighed.

"Of course not. But if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?"

"Junas-nii! Was that a joke? Did you just make a joke?" Riko asked, giggling happily, her viciousness and rage forgotten.

"Well… It had to happen eventually, I suppose." Junas said with a laugh, ruffling Riko's hair, messing it up. "It's almost like I've become a real boy!"

"Junas-nii! What are you on!" Riko demanded, halfway between concern and elation at his sudden good mood.

"Well, just the usual. A little bit of meth, some crack/cocaine, some LSD… Don't worry. It won't last." Junas replied. Riko sighed, not sure whether to take him seriously.

As it happened, Junas was faking up a storm. He was so concerned about Riko's bad mood, that almost subconsciously, he found himself making stupid jokes and saying the dumbest things he could think of to make Riko laugh again. Junas was supposed to be the gloomy one, not his beautiful, always happy, always cheerful Riko-chan. He couldn't stand seeing her unhappy, so he made an immediate and concerted effort to change that… And now he was exhausted.

Maybe it was a bad thing that being funny wore him out so much.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Doctor… I'm… Concerned about something."  
"Really? You seem to have pretty much everything under control these days. You're in a healthy relationship… Leaving aside the fact that she's less than half your age… You're taking good care of her. You aren't being abusive, possessive or controlling. You've let her have her space, and experience relationships with other people.

"Over the past few months, I've seen more change in you than I saw in years before that."

"I… Made a joke the other day."

"Really? That's not a problem. It's a little surprising, but not a problem. Tell me a little bit about the situation." The Doctor said, leaning in.

"Well… You remember why I started coming here, right? I never really talked much about it, but there were these kids, real brats, sexually harassing Riko-chan at school, and it was getting to the point that she was terrified to even go to school in the morning. So, like any parent, I took care of the situation. If you're thinking that sounds far more ominous than it should…" Junas said, cutting Doctor Yoshimiya off, "That's because it is."

"I went to the school and enquired as to the specific students' whereabouts, and then confronted them on the football field. They denied their actions and even said that Riko-chan was… Asking for it. Well, I took out a wooden sword and beat the children half to death. Naturally, I was arrested for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. I'm not sure about the others. I've only heard that they were too scared to come see me.

"But, one of the kids, who I assume was the leader, such as he was, back in elementary school, came to see me and apologize to Riko-chan for his behavior. He said that they were harassing her because they liked her… I was inclined to throw him out the 20th story window. But… Riko, being ever the diplomat, took him out for tea. I'm not sure what exactly took place, but words like insane and freak were thrown around, mostly directed at me, as I understand, and Riko was… Terribly angry and upset.

"Seeing her upset was difficult. She's always so happy, so cheerful and friendly, that seeing her so angry was painful. So, I ended up acting like even more of a fool around her than I usually do. I started making jokes. But, she started laughing, so… Even if I did look like an idiot, I think I'd do it again any day, and twice on Sunday. Things like 'if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?' left my mouth, and well… She seemed so happy that I was in such a supposedly good mood that she couldn't stay upset.

"But, I was so exhausted after that… Pretending to be cheerful like that, forcing myself to make jokes wore me out much more quickly than it probably should have."

"I see… Well… Do you regret making those jokes? Seeing the smile on her face when you did?"

"Never. I'd do anything to see her smile. It's magical. She's beautiful no matter what mood she's in, but she's gorgeous, radiant when she smiles or laughs…

"Are men always such fools for their woman?"

"I've… Unfortunately come in contact with such men. Abusive partners, neglectful husbands. But most men legitimately become fools for the one they love, as you say. And, if, as you say, you'd do it again in a heartbeat, then, I see no problem with the aftereffects. You're just unused to being cheerful. You've changed a lot, in the past few months alone.

"But I don't think you've adjusted to those changes yet. And that's not a bad thing. You just need time. Don't stop trying to change. I'm not sure if you'll ever be what one would call the life of the party. You may just be more introverted. And I'm sure that Riko understands that. You've told me about your time as a Grigori experiment. Such treatment would have an effect on anyone. You're not alone in your reaction to essentially being tortured.

"Eventually, you shut down emotionally to spare yourself the mental and emotional pain of the torture. But… Now that you're not being tortured anymore… Now that you don't need to build that shell to protect yourself… Perhaps consider coming out of your shell, breaking down your barriers and being more forthcoming. Riko would probably appreciate that effort on your part, and if she's the woman you say she is, she'll help you."

"You… You are required to apprise the courts of my progress, correct? Are you… Telling them what I talk about with you?" Junas asked dangerously. Yoshimiya laughed good naturedly.

"Not as such. I tell them that you are making good progress. But as a licensed social worker, I'm bound by the oath of confidentiality. I'm not allowed to tell them any specifics.

"I essentially write a 500-1000 word report once a month to the courts telling them that you are not showing any signs of harming yourself or anyone else, that the individual under your care… Yes, I do have to tell them that you have another person living in your home, though I needn't give specifics as to gender, age, or their specific relationship to you, only that I've met them, and that in my best judgment, they are not in danger from you, and that you are progressing well in your therapy.

"It's basically just 500-1,000 words saying something that could be just as accurately accomplished in a single paragraph. I thought you'd find that funny." Yoshimiya said, seeing that Junas wasn't laughing.

"Well… As funny as I generally find anything." Junas replied. Yoshimiya nodded.

"Fair enough. You really think my relationship with Riko-chan is healthy?" Junas asked. Yoshimiya looked at him for a moment.

"Do you think it's healthy?" He asked. Junas looked away, then back at him.

"I'm not sure. She's so much younger than me. She's fifteen, and I'm… Well, I'm over 30, and closer to a father to her than her boyfriend in terms of my role in her life. I've taken care of her since she was four. Yes, we lived together, but I practically raised her."

"That's true. It's an unusual relationship. Do you have a problem with this past in comparison to your present situation?"

"Well… I suppose not. Riko-chan seems happy."

"But are _you_ happy?"

"Yes. More than anything. But I'm concerned more for her happiness than mine. She's happy now, or so it seems, but what about the future? I'm an old man compared to her. I shouldn't be in a relationship with her any more than she should be marrying her father."

"Well, then maybe you should break up with her. You and she wouldn't be the first couple to break up. It doesn't have to be permanent. Maybe a trial separation.

"You've… Lived with her for… How long? 12 years?"

"Almost twelve. You really think it's best for us to do that?" Junas asked, looking terribly upset at the idea. Yoshiyama shrugged.

"It's not a matter of what I think. It's a matter of what _you_ think. _You_ are expressing doubts about your relationship. See what it's like without a relationship if you think that will help.

"It's not my decision to make. It is and needs to be yours… Now, we're done for today, but tell me next time how things are going, if any changes have occurred, and the results of said changes. You can keep a journal if you like, or just remember it. Either way is fine."

"Thank you, Doctor." Junas said, scowling angrily, and walking out. He couldn't remember ever feeling less satisfied after a session.

"Riko… Riko-chan… Listen… I'm sorry about… What I need to do now."

"Oh? Did you want to do anal again, Junas-nii?" Riko asked, seeming almost hopeful.

"What? No…" Junas said, secretly thinking that he did sort of want to try it.

"No, I'm heading out of town for a while, and…" Junas began. He couldn't lie to Riko, though, no matter how much he didn't want to hurt her.

"No… I… I need you to go stay with a friend for a little while."

"What? How long? Riko asked, tears filling her eyes.

"I don't know. It's not you, Riko-chan. It's me. I… I started this relationship with you too fast, and I'm not ready for it. I'm overwhelmed… Happy, but… Overwhelmed, and I'm not good for you right now.

"I originally said I'd answer you when you were eighteen. But… In my love and… Attraction to you, I rushed things, and I'm not ready, and I don't think you're ready either. I need you to stay with someone else for a while… It might only be a month. It might be until you're eighteen… I-I have no idea." Junas said, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Juu-nii… Why are you wearing sunglasses."

"Because I can't stand for you to see me crying." Junas said, keeping his voice steady, trying to prevent himself from seeming weak. He knew that he was weak. He was broken up about sending Riko away. He had fallen in love with her in the first place. Love wasn't something he had ever learned in Grigori. But he was in love with her, and he had to do what was best for her.

"C-could you take off your sunglasses? Just to say goodbye to me?" Riko asked, tears streaming down her cheeks now, her chest heaving in and out. Junas sighed. He couldn't refuse her this one simple request. He pulled off his sunglasses, staring at Riko, his own eyes also filled with tears.

"I love you, Riko-chan… But right now, I'm not what's right for you. I insist that you don't cut yourself off from the rest of the world.

"Feel free to date anyone you'd like. I wouldn't stop you if I could. I need you to have your own life outside of my own desires. Excuse me…" Junas said, dialing a number, and speaking into the phone.

"Hello… Elmore-san… I apologize for calling you. I know we don't really know each other, but… I'm afraid I don't really have any other friends."

"What can I do for you, Junas?" Elmore asked politely.  
"How did you… Never mind. Dumb question. I know that it's a lot to ask of you, but could you look after Riko for a while?"

"How long would we have the pleasure of her company?"

"Maybe a month, maybe three years… I doubt it will be longer than three years. She turns eighteen then, and she can do what she likes with her life." Junas said flippantly. Elmore nodded.

"Of course she can join us. Is she the lovely young lady with the star shaped scar on her forehead or the white haired foreigner?"

"Um… Um… The girl with the star on her forehead. It's lovely, isn't it?"

"Quite. Bring her over. Do you know our address?"

"Yes. Everyone knows your address." Junas said, thanking her and hanging up.

"Junas-nii… Do I… Do I really have to go?"

"I need you to go. Like I said, it's not you. It's me. I'm not ready to handle all of this. I love you more than I can express, but right now… Right now…"

"You're scared. I understand. I'm sad that I need to leave your side. But I understand." Riko said gently, kissing Junas one last time before getting her shoes on and packing up some clothes, and her teddy bear, which she still slept with. She knew that she was fifteen, now, but it was the first gift Junas ever got her, back when she was five years old. She had named her bear Caprico. It was a jet black bear with a silver star on its forehead.

They had only been living together for a year, and Riko was having nightmares, so Junas bought her a teddy bear and said that it would protect her at night, that the star on its forehead was a third eye that would prevent evil from touching her. In retrospect, it was just kind of weird. But at the time, Riko was deeply grateful, and her nightmares began to abate, though she carried it everywhere, even to school. Occasionally she was made fun of for her need to carry the bear everywhere.

However, already, Junas had started teaching her martial arts, and she was proving to be incredibly talented at it, so after the first time she beat up a boy twice her size for trying to steal her bear, most people with any common sense didn't pick on her. It was only bad luck that the boys from her middle school who sexually harassed her didn't know her reputation. They had transferred into the school from out of town.

Riko couldn't even express how hurt she felt. She understood what Junas was saying, but it hurt that he was essentially kicking her out. She was sure that she would get used to it. She got used to living with Junas, and even came to fall in love with him. But this was different.

"Riko… Again, I still love you. It's not you… I just need…"

"Junas-nii…" Riko said with a smile, holding her tears back. She didn't want Junas to feel as bad as she did right now. Little did she know, he felt just as bad as her and then some. "It's alright. I understand." She said, hugging him tightly, and knocking on the door.

"Oh, hi, Riko-chan! How nice to see you again!" Marie exclaimed happily, hugging Riko, and taking her suitcase, bringing it up to the guestroom.

"Okay, here's the deal. Everyone does chores around here. Most of us use our psychic powers to some extent to do them, if said powers are applicable. Do you have telekinesis?"

"Low-level, yes. My main Burst, Junas-nii called Creator. It used to be that I could only activate it by drawing in my pad. But now, I'm able to create monsters without it… Even humanoid creatures. I don't usually use my telekinesis. Watch… Caprico, Grana, Shiner… Wake up." Riko said, nodding at three spaces around them. Immediately, very lifelike humanoid creatures came to life.

"Wow… That's impressive. Can they talk?"

"Hey, Caprico-chan… Can you do the dishes?" Riko asked. Caprico nodded, its hair seeming to blow around despite there being no wind.

"Yes… Not particularly fond of toons and wishes, though…"

"What did she say?"

"She doesn't like doing the dishes."

"No… She said 'toons and wishes'." Marie countered irritably. Riko laughed.

"She's got a Cockney accent. Rhyming slang… My ex-girlfriend was British, so although she spoke with a very upscale English accent, she taught me a bit of Cockney slang."

"I see… And I suppose Grana has a Russian accent?"

"No… I can speak a little bit of Russian, but I couldn't mimic the accent if I tried. Caprico-chan's accent was just a test of my ability to relay foreign accents to my creations.

"Seems I succeeded. Let's get my shit put away so I can be alone for a while. My boyfriend just broke up with me, and I need a little time by my lonesome."

"Okay… Are you sure you couldn't use someone to talk to? Shao and Van are both excellent listeners. Van is more likely to chime in with some advice, while Shao will probably just listen as long as you keep talking. If it seems like he's not paying attention, you can be sure he's remembered every word."

"Thank you… Why are you being so nice to me? I was your enemy…"

"In the past. You were four years old, and you were in over your head. Nothing came of it, so why should we hold a grudge?"

"Thank you. I'm just going to put my stuff away. I guess I'll see you at dinner tonight." Riko said sadly, the magnitude of her situation finally coming down on her, leaving her terribly tired.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"Miss Hachiboshi… Mother says it's time for dinner… Miss Hachiboshi…" Shao said politely, knocking on the door. "May I come in? Are you dressed?" He asked, knowing that it wasn't a polite question to ask. Still, after three minutes, he walked in to see Riko lying on the bed, not really asleep, but not paying the slightest bit of attention to the world around her.

"Miss Hachiboshi… Hello, my name is Shao… It's a pleasure to meet you. Mother says it's time for dinner. Do you wish to join us?" Shao asked, bowing politely. Riko shook her head. It looked like she had been crying earlier. Shao sat down next to her.

"Did you wish to talk about anything? It doesn't have to be your current situation. We can talk about the weather, or your PSI abilities… Your favorite subject in school. Anything you like."

"I'm not really in the mood to talk. Oh, and call me Riko."

"Of course, Riko. I'll let you be alone for now." Shao said, hoping that she would open up, but knowing that she needed time. He got the feeling that Junas was much more than just a father, or a brother to her. He could feel that she loved him. He didn't know how he felt about her. All he felt from Junas was a razor sharp stinging sensation.

Closing the door, he headed down to dinner, sitting down with the rest of his family. Frederica sneered upon seeing that Riko wasn't with him.

"What? She too good to eat with us?"

"No. She's simply depressed. Someone she loves very much, in her eyes, has abandoned her.

"Whatever the reason that he left her here is irrelevant to her. He's left her, and she's feeling very lonely and sad. I don't think anyone here can say they've never felt like that before."

"If she's feeling lonely, she should come down and sit with us! We're all the company she could possibly need. Who's more interesting than us, right?" Frederica said, sounding more than slightly callous.

"She needs to sort through her emotions. She'll come down when she's ready. I'll bring some food up to her later. Until then, I hope you can be understanding of her need for privacy, Frederica?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Let me take the food to her. I'd like to at least be able to meet her under better circumstances than last time."

"That can't be hard, Freddy." Van said cheerfully. "Last time, you got into a fistfight with her! It won't be hard to make this situation better!" He said with a laugh.

"Don't call me Freddy, goddamnit!" Frederica screamed, pounding the table with her fist, leaving a scorch mark on it.

Calming down, slightly, Frederica scowled, and dug into her meal with great enthusiasm, finishing the mean in record time, going to the kitchen, and taking some of everything, putting it on a plate, and taking it up the stairs, knocking on Riko's door.

"Hey, Riko! Can I come in?" Frederica demanded. She heard an affirmative answer from Riko, and walked in.

"Hey, I brought you dinner. You don't gotta come down if you don't want to, but don't starve yourself just because you're upset. I can't imagine this Junas person would approve of that!"

"Junas-nii doesn't care what I do anymore. He doesn't care about me."

"Did he say that to you?" Frederica asked, seeming shocked that he would say that. He seemed like a cold, emotionally distant person, but well meaning.

"N-no… H-he just said that he needed time to sort through his own feelings. I-I know what he meant, though."

"How could you possibly know what he meant!? Do you have telepathy? Can you read his mind? I don't think even Shao could read his mind if he was focusing all his energy on him. That man is like a steel fortress. I don't think he's ever had a single kind emotion in his life!"

"You're wrong!" Riko snapped angrily, her eyes flaring up with the flames of passion. "Junas-nii is the kindest, gentlest, bravest person I've ever known! If you had even the slightest clue what that man has been through in his life, you'd know why it's hard for him to express himself! That doesn't mean he can't love or have good intentions or emotions! How dare you assume that he's cruel just because he has trouble with his emotions!

"Don't you _ever_ presume to tell me what kind of person Junas-nii is again, or I swear to every God I don't believe in, I'll kill you and feed your remains to the coyotes!" Riko shouted viciously, advancing furiously on Frederica, whose eyes widened slightly. After a moment though, she smirked.

"Good. Glad to see the real you again. Now get your ass up and introduce yourself to the family. No excuses." Frederica said with a smirk. Riko started laughing hysterically, realizing that Frederica had tricked her. Frederica was more cunning than her very straightforward demeanor would have suggested.

"Okay… I'll be right down." Riko said, going to a mirror, and fixing her hair, removing her eyeliner and lipstick, both of which were smudged and running. After cleaning herself up, she went downstairs, and smiled at the rest of the kids and Elmore, and introducing herself. They all knew her, but were pleased to see that she was feeling better.

"What did you say to her, Freddy?" Marie asked. Frederica snickered. "I insulted Junas, and she came right around, defending him. With the kind of crush she seems to have on him, I figured it would work.

"Hello… My name is Riko Hachiboshi. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I apologize for skipping dinner."

"That's okay… Say, you're a real cutie!" Van said cheerfully."

"Mm… Lilacs… Blue… Green… Wax… Ink… I detect a Creation Type Burst in you." Shao replied. Riko nodded, blushing slightly at Van's comment.

"You into martial arts, Riko?" Kyle asked. Riko nodded. In truth, she was very physically powerful. Even without her Rise, she had near Peak-Human flexibility and reflexes, and Peak-Human speed and agility. She had been known to finish a mile in a minute and twenty seconds. Her strength was high, but she took more pride in her agility and reflexes than physical strength. After all, anyone could build up a lot of muscle mass and punch hard. It took skill to be agile and have such great reflexes.

Her greatest skill was in outmaneuvering enemies… Well, that was her second greatest skill. Her greatest was in art.

"Great! You wanna spar with me?" Kyle asked. "I'll go easy on you, I promise!" He said with a laugh.

Kyle may have had Burst talent in creating telekinetic constructs, but his main skill was in Rise, so he tended to be a powerful combatant, hitting hard, fast and with immense destructive force.

"Kyle may be good at physical combat, but he couldn't outthink a teapot. I wouldn't give him the…"

"Sure! Sounds like fun!" Riko said, her eyes lighting up, and heading outside with Kyle, facing him in the back yard.

"So, Riko-chan! Didya wanna fight purely with Rise, or use Burst as well?"  
"It's up to you. I can use all three types of Psi… Well, my main skill is in Burst, but my Rise is above average. I wouldn't put much faith in my Trance in a hard spot."

"Okey dokey! Rise it is, then. Mom'd never forgive me if I ruined her backyard." Kyle said, powering up his Rise, and attacking Riko.

Riko back flipped, and cartwheeled away, pushing over Kyle's head and kicking him in the face.

"Wow! This is gonna be fun!" Kyle exclaimed, moving faster the second time, being sidestepped, and nearly tripped. Kyle leapt over Riko's leg, though and aimed a punch, which Riko blocked, leading to a resounding _CRACK_ going through the entire property. Riko could feel her arm go numb.

"Wow! You're good! Maybe you'd consider going on a date with me!" Kyle said excitedly. Riko laughed, blushing slightly.

"I'm flattered, but my heart belongs to Junas-nii… Now, hurry up! Fight me!" Riko yelled, shaking her arm to get some feeling back in it.

"That's the spirit!" Kyle exclaimed, running at Riko, seeming to disappear, and reappear behind Riko. The young woman turned, though, elbowing Kyle, and grabbing his wrist, throwing him. Kyle flipped in the air and landed on his feet, leaping in the air, seeming to bounce off of thin air, and eventually landed next to Riko, punching at her and stopping in midair.

"I guess I win that round. If I had hit you, you'd be unconscious."

"I guess I'm lucky you're such a gentleman, then. Good fight." Riko said, shaking Kyle's hand, leaving him flexing it to work the feeling back into it after she nearly crushed it.

"Wow… You're stronger than I thought. It looked like you mostly relied on your speed and unconscious reflexes." Kyle said. Riko laughed.

"I do… But that doesn't mean I can't punch hard if I need to. I've been training with Junas-nii in all different kinds of martial arts for around ten years. He started teaching me to defend myself when I was only four. Back then, I didn't understand why he wanted me to learn to fight, but he explained that I couldn't only rely on my Burst. Now, I've got nearly peak-human abilities, and master belt level skills in at least three martial art forms."

"Hah! I'd better watch out for you, then, eh? I'm good at fighting, but I don't have the systematically trained skills that you have. You fight with swords?"

"Sometimes. I can fight with katana, wakizashi, tanto, and Western swords, even."

"Any other weapons?"

"Spears, Escrima sticks, Kerambits, bows and arrows, and a bunch of other weapons. My main skill is in dual wielding, though, so I would usually use Kodachi."

"Kodachi?" Kyle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… Most would say that the Kodachi is longer than a Wakizashi but shorter than a Katana. But strictly speaking, that's not true.

"The length of the Wakizashi is meant to complement the wielder's main sword. Wakizashi are used in tandem with a Katana in Niten Ichi-Ryu, and both are based on the user's arm length and height. The Kodachi is a set length, though. So, although the Kodachi is typically longer, it isn't always. That said, they could be seen as the equivalent of a shortsword."

"Gosh, couldn't you have just said that last part first? It would've given me less of a headache."

"Sorry…" Riko said sheepishly.

"Nah, I like smart girls. It's attractive, if you ask me…"

"Thank you… But I told you…"

"Yeah, I know… Can't blame a guy for trying, though… Eh?"

"I'm flattered." Riko said,

"Not every day I meet someone, especially someone so small, who could probably kick my ass in a fight. This Junas guy is one lucky ass bastard."

"Thank you. So… What do you guys do during the day?"

"We go to school. You go to school, too, don't you?"

"I don't think we hang out in the same circles." Riko said uncertainly, referring to their wealth compared to hers. "I'm sure that people like you hang out in higher circles than people like me… Rich boy."

"Aw, c'mon! Pretty sure I've heard your name 'round school. Way I hear it, most boys in school've had a crush on you at one point or another… And…" Kyle chuckled to himself. "Several girls as well."

"Mm… Word does travel fast through a small grapevine, doesn't it?"

"Yeah… I heard you had a cute little British girlfriend for a while."

"Welsh… She was Welsh…" Riko said, her humor darkening. "And I'm not interested in talking about this anymore. Thank you." Riko said, turning her back on Kyle and striding away. Kyle's eyes widened, and he chased after her.

"Aw, come on! Look, I'm sorry! Fuu says I don't have a brain cell in me… It's all muscle, I guess. I didn't mean to offend you!" Kyle protested. Riko spun around and glared at Kyle angrily.

"It's not your fault!" She snapped.

"Then why do you still look so angry!?" Kyle asked anxiously. Riko bared her teeth for a minute.

"None of your damn business! Just leave me alone!" She snarled, kicking Kyle in the shin and storming back into the house, and slamming the door of her room.

"Am I the only one who thinks it's kinda hot when she's angry?" Kyle asked, perplexed, earning looks of ire from Frederica and Marie, who seemed less than amused by his comment.

"Nah! It is kind of cute to see her lose her temper." Van laughed.

"What did you do, Kyle?" Marie asked, distressed that their guest was so upset.

"I… I was just talking to her about her school life!"

"Knowing this dumbass, he probably brought up some painful memory about an old boyfriend and pissed her off! You're lucky she didn't break your face, asshole!" Frederica stormed, hurrying up to Riko's room and walking in without bothering to knock, walking in to find her just in her panties, about to go into the shower.

"Hey! Ever hear of knocking!?"

"Sorry… I just wanted to ask you if you could forgive Kyle. He may be an idiot, but he usually means well." Frederica said quietly, looking away from Riko.

"No problem. No need to look away like that. Nothing you haven't seen already, right?" Riko asked with a giggle. Frederica raised an eyebrow. She was so damn confident. It was almost a little annoying.

"Um… Yeah… No wonder this Junas guy is so apeshit over you. You're really gorgeous."

"Aww… Thank you…" Riko said, kissing Frederica gently on the lips, pulling away and putting on a bathrobe.

"Sorry… Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Don't worry about it. What did he ask you about, anyhow that pissed you off so much?"

"Huh? Oh. He was talking about an ex-girlfriend of mine. It just kind of annoyed me. I'm not angry at him. I shouldn't have overreacted like that."

"You're a lesbian?"

"No. I guess I don't really identify with any sexual orientation. I just like who I like. I happened to like this Welsh girl. I also am in love with Junas-nii. It got a bit more complicated than I expected, though. I should've seen it coming. Most people can't balance two relationships at once. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. But I think I burned at least one bridge in my little sexual experiment if you will." Riko said, being more open about her life than Frederica was really ready for. She tried to roll with it, though.

"So, you're pansexual?" Frederica asked. She was sure she was being a little insensitive, but she was curious now. Riko rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't quantify it like that. Giving it a name seems like it would be cheapening it. Love is love. If Kyle were to fall in love with a male, I'd say the same thing I'd say if he fell in love with a female. Love is beautiful, and it only becomes less beautiful when you're forced to put a label on it."

"Wow… I guess I never thought about it like that…" Frederica said, slightly stunned at how open-minded Riko was. It was a bit intimidating. Strength, talent, confidence, intelligence, eloquence. Riko really was amazing, Frederica thought. Riko nodded, then put on a tank top, walking over to Frederica and pulling her down next to her on the bed.

"So, you're in love with Marie. How would you quantify it, if you were forced to?"

"I don't quantify it. I don't even talk about it. I haven't even written it in my diary. If I talk about it then it becomes true, and I can't ignore it anymore."

"Why hide from it. There's nothing wrong with being in love with Marie. I'm sure she'd be flattered."

"You don't understand! How could you understand! You're so comfortable with your sexuality! I'm just not! I can't tell her! What if I tell her and she's disgusted! What if she hates me!

"It's fine for someone like you! You're gorgeous, you're confident! I bet you've been the crush of every boy and the envy of every girl at some point or another! People like you will never understand how insecure the rest of us feel! It must be _great_ being perfect! YOU MAKE ME SICK!" Frederica spat, disgusted with how blithe Riko was, and with how jealous she was. It wasn't Riko's fault she was beautiful.

She couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted with herself, either, though. She was being horrible to Riko, and she knew it. She just couldn't accept that someone could be so comfortable with themselves. Frederica needed someone to blame at the moment. Riko smiled gently, hugging Frederica tightly to herself. She didn't even seem angry at Frederica's outburst.

"But I was scared too. Scared to confess to Junas-nii. It was easy to confess to Lucy because I wasn't personally involved. I liked her, sure… I came to love her. But when I asked her out, it was frankly in the hopes that I could make Junas-nii jealous."

"Wow… You're despicable…" Frederica laughed weakly through tears.

"No more or less so than anyone else. Come here." Riko whispered, kissing Frederica tenderly on the lips, smiling as Frederica stiffened for a moment, but then leaned into the kiss, sighing in pleasure.

"You're just as beautiful as any girl I've met, sweetie. It's not your appearance that's slowing you down. It's not your attitude. I personally find your spunky personality attractive. You just need to be more confident in yourself." Riko whispered, gently stroking Frederica's cheek.

"Easier said than done." Frederica huffed irritably.

"I know, it's hard to feel confident when you're only looking at the bad side. Come on. Let's make a list of fifteen things you like about yourself."

"A-are you for real?" Frederica asked, raising an eyebrow. Nobody had ever suggested such an approach seriously. She had heard people mention it tongue-in-cheek.

"It's how I help myself when I lack confidence… It… Doesn't hurt to know that others have faith in you, either though." Riko laughed. Frederica giggled nervously, blushing. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so exhilarated. Riko's kiss had sent her soul flying, and now she couldn't cool herself down if she tried.

"Riko… I-I'm scared." Frederica muttered, blushing angrily. She was angry at herself. Riko was trying so hard to help her, and she couldn't accept that.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry I pushed you to do something you were uncomfortable with." Riko said gently, pulling Frederica to a standing position. Frederica shook her head, though and shoved Riko back on the bed, kissing her passionately.

"Goddamnit! You can't just push me away now, after we've gone this far!" Frederica yelled. Riko laughed gently, shaking her head.

"If you're that heated up, bring it to Marie. She's the one you're in love with."

"No! I can't! I-I just can't!"

"Why not? Can you try to have sex with me because you don't love me, and it wouldn't make a difference if I rejected you? Talk to Marie… If she's anything like she seems, she won't turn you away because of your feelings. Don't let her get away from you. Don't make that mistake… I believe in you." Riko said firmly, shoving Frederica out the door and closing it behind her.

Frederica sighed. Riko was right. She wasn't sure of herself at all, but if she waited, and Marie ended up with someone else, she wouldn't be able to live with that. She needed to end this one way or the other, right now. She strode across the house to Marie's room and knocked on the door.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Freddy… You look disheveled… Are you alright?" Marie asked, concerned about her sister. Frederica didn't say anything, just looking intensely at Marie, breathing heavily, looking like she was trying to think of what to say. But nothing seemed to be coming out.

"Here, come on in. Why don't we just talk for a while?" Marie said cheerfully, pulling Frederica into her room and dragging her over to the bed.

"So, just… Start whenever you want. I can wait." Marie said. Suddenly, Frederica's eyes widened.

"I love you, Marie!" She shouted, lurching forward, grabbing Marie and kissing her passionately on the lips. Marie gasped, not having expected to be leapt on like that. She wasn't entirely surprised that Frederica was finally confessing. She had a feeling about Frederica's feelings towards her. She just didn't say anything because it never seemed the right time.

Finally, Frederica pulled away, her fair skin alight with a heavy blush.

"Freddy… I wondered when you were going to tell me. Why did you keep it in for so long?"

"Because I was afraid that you would reject me. What if you started to hate me?"

"Frederica! That's ridiculous. Of course I don't hate you. I just wanted to give you the time you needed to be comfortable with yourself." Marie said gently, kissing Frederica warmly on the lips.

Frederica sighed and leaned into the kiss, looking fiercely into Marie's eyes.

"I love you, princess…" Frederica whispered. Marie smiled, kissing Frederica again.

"I love you, too, Frederica-chan… But why did you choose now to confess to me?" Marie asked. She had known for a while, but she was starting to wonder if Frederica would ever get up the courage.

"Well… Riko encouraged me. We… Talked a bit about my feelings… And… Well… I knew that if I didn't act soon, I might lose the chance forever." Frederica muttered. Marie laughed.

"Well… I guess I'll have to thank her… For both of us…" Marie whispered, kissing Frederica, slowly removing her dress.

Frederica immediately moved to cover herself, but was stopped by Marie, who hugged Frederica tightly.

"You don't need to be ashamed, Freddy… You're so beautiful… I wouldn't change anything about you." The red haired girl whispered sweetly. Frederica blushed slightly, scowling, but letting her arms fall to her side. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It felt like it was going to rip itself right out. It felt amazing to finally be with Marie, but on the other hand, it was so nerve wracking.

Marie leaned over, pulling Frederica in closer.

"Take a deep breath… This isn't as difficult as you seem to think." Marie giggled. Frederica scowled, shoving Marie away from her.

"How do you know! Have _you_ ever had sex with a girl!"

"Is that what this is about?" Marie asked, kissing Frederica gently. "We don't have to do the deed as it were tonight. We've got a lifetime, you know. Why don't we just talk tonight, make it easier." Marie said. Frederica sighed in relief. She had been raring to go just a minute ago, but now, the idea of just talking the night away seemed like the better option.

"Maybe just one more kiss?" Frederica asked, turning a light shade of pink. Marie gently cupped Frederica's cheek, taking her lips in a kiss again, pulling away for a moment.

"C'mon… Freddy… Close your eyes… How can you call this a kiss if you don't close your eyes? Don't you trust me?" Marie asked. Frederica, turning a deeper shade of red, closed her eyes and kissed Marie. There was something that felt so right about this.

She really owed Riko a big thank you. She would thank her tomorrow. She was probably still stewing over whatever Kyle had said to her. She wondered what she had done to build up Frederica's confidence like this, though.

"If… You don't mind my asking… What did Riko-chan say to you? She must be pretty charismatic to have built you up like this."

"Um… Well… We talked a bit about what Kyle said to her. He just mentioned an old girlfriend of hers that didn't work out, and Riko got angrier than she meant to, I guess. I don't blame her. She's got a better hold on her temper than I do. I would've turned Kyle to charcoal if he had brought up something like that." Frederica said. Marie laughed. She could see that happening.

"I didn't know Riko was a lesbian, too…?"

"She's not… She just wanted to make Junas jealous…"

"I see… She's more mercenary than I expected from her sweet demeanor." Marie said with a smile.

"I said the same thing. We talked a bit about her sexuality. But by her own admission, she doesn't identify herself by any sexuality. It 'cheapens the relationship if she put a label on it,' she said."

"I never would have thought of it like that."

"I said the same thing…" Frederica laughed. The two girls laughed together.

"Then she kissed me… On the lips…"

"Oh…" Marie said, her heart stopping for a moment. Was this jealousy? She had only ever felt this when she saw Ageha and Sakurako together in the past, really.

"It's not like that… She was encouraging me, then she told me if I was still hot, I should see you… No, that sounded terrible." Frederica muttered, blushing deeply.

"No, I understand… How did this conversation start with Riko-chan?"

"I went to try to cool things off about Kyle… And I walked in on her in her panties… She said I didn't need to leave…

"We talked for a while about her sexuality, or her lack of one… I got angry at her because of her confidence. I told her that people like her would never understand how insecure the rest of us felt, and that she made me sick… I guess I just was making myself sick over how jealous I was getting… She doesn't understand… But that's not her fault. She's always been beautiful, strong, smart, talented, confident and kind…

"I guess I just felt like she never had to try, so how could she talk to me about my problems when she's never had them herself? It wasn't fair for me to get so angry at her. She probably hates me now… I was so mean to her… When she was only trying to help me…"

"I'm sure she's not angry. Did you apologize?" Marie asked. Frederica blushed nervously.

"N-no… I couldn't… She was letting it go so easily and I didn't want to bring it up again."

"Well… Go back tomorrow or something… Or later tonight… Apologize… She's a nice person… I'm sure she's not angry in the first place, but if she is, I'm sure she'll forgive you…" Marie said gently, cupping Frederica's cheek, kissing her again. Frederica's eyes closed slowly, sighing happily.

"I love you, Freddy…" Marie whispered. Frederica whispered it back. The night went on like this. They alternated between making out and talking.

Frederica did wonder about what their brothers would think of their relationship. Legally, they were sisters. Would their mother approve? What would Ageha and the others say? Surely they wouldn't care. It was something she worried about. But eventually, her mind slowed and she fell asleep in Marie's arms.

"Yo, Riko! Open the hell up!" Frederica demanded. Riko sighed, coming to the door, looking irritably at Frederica, snarling at her, teeth bared.

"You better have a pretty good fucking excuse for waking me up this early, you stupid bitch!" She sneered. Frederica's eyes widened, then she burst into laughter. Suddenly, all the tension she had felt just seconds ago disappeared. Riko wasn't as perfect as she seemed at first glance.

Smart, talented, beautiful, powerful, but totally not a morning person, and she had bad moods just like anyone else. Finally, Frederica's laughter subsided.

"Hey, sorry I woke you up… It is almost noon, though."

"I guess righteous indignation at being woken up isn't really appropriate then. Sorry for the way I greeted you." Riko said, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Come on in." Riko muttered, shuffling back to the bed and lying down again.

"Yikes! You really turned this room into a disaster zone in no time flat!" Frederica said, looking around, seeing Riko's clothes scattered around the room. Riko didn't answer.

"Riko… Riko… WAKE UP, DAMNIT! I'M TRYING TO TALK TO YOU!" The blonde psychicer shouted. Riko started.

*YAWWWWWWNNNNNN!* "Sorry… I'm not used to being woken so violently. I was in the middle of a really nice dream… I was married to Junas-nii and we were playing with our children… He had the normal life he had always wanted but could never have… I was married to the love of my life… I took out my frustration at being woken early on you and I'm sorry for that. What's up?"

"I uh… I wanted… To… To… To apologize… I said some really mean things to you last night. I may've been angry and upset, but that's not an excuse to treat a guest that way, especially when all you were doing was trying to help…" Frederica muttered, blushing slightly. "And thank you… I talked with Marie almost all night. I kissed her… We only made it to First Base… But it was amazing… And I never would have gotten there without you."

"I appreciate your apology… But it's not necessary. Neither is a thank you. I was happy to help you, and it's an honor that you chose to come to me of all people, especially since you barely know me. I'm glad you and Marie managed to get started."

"You're still not over Junas leaving you here, are you? I may not be as perceptive as you are, but that dream screams lovelorn…" Frederica said.

"Listen… I'm not good at this touchy feely shit… But if you ever need to talk to someone… Please feel free to come to me… After all you did for me, it's the least I can do. No, I'm serious. It seems like you're going to become like another sibling, and I guess I need to not only accept that, but embrace you."

"Thank you. Maybe we could spar sometime."

"Probably not the best idea. Rise isn't really my strong point. You seem to be able to enhance agility and speed and dodge and outmaneuver more than strength, Kyle is a fucking monster in Rise, Van doesn't really fight. His use of Rise is mainly to assist in healing, Shao is masterful at Rise and martial arts of all kinds, and Marie… Well her telekinesis is her power. Rise doesn't enter into the equation for her. I would spar with you, but I'm afraid I'd end up getting killed."

"Not at all… Just because I have strong Rise doesn't mean I can't moderate my power. That was one of the first things Juu-nii taught me when I was learning Rise. Burst was and still is my strongest discipline, but my Rise is pretty well controlled. Do you use Rise at all?" Riko asked.

"A little… Just to enhance my abilities a touch, make me about Peak-Human Level, maybe slightly enhanced at best… I don't think I can match up to you."

"Well… We'll have to see… I promise I won't go overboard if we do spar, but I won't make it easy for you. Maybe we can increase your ability with your Rise a bit more over the next weeks… Or months… Or years… Oh, god… I'm never gonna see Junas-nii again, am I?" Riko muttered, collapsing on her bed.

"Don't talk like that! You're supposed to be the unbreakable one, damnit! Even Kyle barely beat you in sparring! Shao says you're strong spiritually as well as physically… So act like it, for fuck's sake!" Frederica demanded angrily. Riko smiled tearfully at Frederica.

"Thank you, Fuu-chan… I hope I can live up to your expectations… I'm just not even sure what I should expect of myself…

"The love of my life left me…"  
"He's a fool for that! You're beautiful, strong, talented and intelligent! If that emotional cripple can't see that, he doesn't deserve you!"

"I'm in a stranger's house moochng off their hospitality…"

"We're happy to have you! We needed an extra sparring partner anyway! Sparring Kyle and Shao over and over again has stopped teaching us anything!"

"I feel so lost…" Riko gasped, tears flooding her deep brown eyes."

"You'll be fine! Damnit! You're more centered than I ever was! Just stop moping, goddamnit!" Frederica ordered. Riko gasped.

"I-I'm sorry… I-I… Can you give me some time alone?"

"Fft… Whatever…" Frederica said, smiling weakly at her, making sure that she saw it and walking out. Riko closed her door and went back to bed.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Hey, Riko…" Kyle's voice came. Riko gasped, wiping her eyes to clear the tears from them.

"Y-yes?" She sniffled.

"Hey, I'm sorry I offended you… Ya wanna come down and hang out? You're not still mad, are you?"

"No… I'm not really in the mood to talk right now." Riko said, tears still stinging her eyes.

"Alright… Maybe later then, Riko-chan…" Kyle said cheerfully, heading off and picking up the phone.

"Hello? Grigori Kenjutsu Studios, Junas speaking. How may I help you?" Junas asked politely. Kyle took a deep breath.

"Hey, Junas… This is Kyle Tenjuin… I dunno what kinda fight you had with Riko-chan… But you're a fucking adult. Make up with her, damnit!"

"Oh, Kyle… Is Riko-chan alright? She's… not hurt or anything, right?"

"Not physically, but emotionally she's a wreck. What kind of asshole leaves behind a girl who loves him as much as Riko loves you! How could you do that to her!" Kyle demanded.

"Excuse me a moment, Kyle. I need to finish up something. I'll be right back." Junas said, putting the phone down on the desk and telling one of his instructors to finish up the lesson.

"Alright… Normally, this is the part where I would tell you that I don't answer to you and that you can go fuck yourself. But Riko is very special to me, and you seem to really care about her. I appreciate you standing up for her, Kyle. I left Riko-chan because I didn't trust myself to be able to provide well enough for her. Riko-chan is the first healthy relationship I've had in my entire life, and I felt like I was losing control of myself.

"Until I can be certain that I won't hurt Riko-chan or be a danger to her, I can't trust myself around her. That's why I put her in a well-established family that I was sure would help her through any problems she might have. Riko-chan has always been a lot stronger than I ever was. When Riko has a problem, she tries to use diplomacy. When I used to have a problem, I tried to kill the problem. Just ask that mobster with the scars and the sunglasses. My violence was out of control.

"I'm working on becoming a better and more stable person, the kind of person that Riko can feel safe with and be proud of. And I'm not either of those things right now. Riko is a very kind and gentle young woman. Please take good care of her in my stead." Junas said. Kyle nodded.

"Of course we will. Riko is amazing. She almost beat me in sparring, she set Frederica-chan up with Marie… She's got an entire squadron of her drawings at work in the house.

"Now we don't have to do any work. But she's really hurt… I know you don't feel ready to be in a relationship with her… But Riko needs you…"

"If she really believes that she needs me, she's clearly not looking at her life objectively. You tell her that I've always needed her more than she needed me, and right now, I need to make sure that I can be the right kind of person for her.

"I haven't abandoned her, and I'll never abandon her. But right now, I'm not the right thing for her. When she finishes her high school career in another year and a half or so, maybe things will be different. But until then, I hope that you can be the responsible people for her that I can't be. Please, Kyle… I'm not used to asking people for favors… But right now, I need your help to do for Riko-chan what I can't."

"You didn't even need to ask. We're happy to help you and Riko… I hope you find what you're looking for, Junas… Someday, I expect you to come back for Riko. And on that day, I'll be there to punch you in the face for being such an idiot that you would ditch her like you did? We cool?"

"Frigid as they say in America."

"Ahaha! Nobody says that… Good talking to you, Junas… Oh, did you teach Riko to fight?"

"Yes… Well, I taught her the basics… She took to fighting like she took to her psychic powers… She's immensely gifted. Moreso even than I ever was." Junas said.

"I thought so. She's a really talented fighter. It was really just luck that let me win that sparring match with her." Kyle laughed. Junas laughed as well.

"I find out you actually hurt her, and I'll hunt you down like the pathetic piece of trash you are… Got it? Good… Thank you for taking care of my Riko for me. I have to get back to my classes. Have a good day. Stop by sometime. We might be able to fit you in for some classes if you like."

"Sounds good. Later." Kyle said, hanging up and sighing.

"He seems like a nice guy, for all his bluster." Kyle said to himself. Suddenly, turning around, he ran into Riko.

"Oh! Sorry… You alright?"

"Y-yeah… Listen… I'm sorry I've been so… Anxious and turbulent with all of you… I'm sure Junas-nii wouldn't have wanted me to shut myself off from the rest of the world…"

"Actually, I just talked to Junas…"

"You did! How's he doing! Did he say anything about…"

"Whoa, whoa! He said you're the most important person in his world, but right now, he needs to focus on being a better person. He said he loves you, but he doesn't trust himself right now… I think that being in love is new for him, and he doesn't trust his own stability.

"I don't know much about Junas, but if he doesn't trust himself with you, then giving the two of you some time apart may be the best thing for both of you at the moment. He did say that he promises to come back for you… He also said, and I quote 'If Riko really thinks she needs me, then she's clearly not looking at her life objectively."

"I… He was the first friend I ever had… Maybe I blew my need for him out of proportion because of that… I'm still in love with him… But maybe this is good for me, too and not just for him. Maybe I really did need some time away from Junas-nii… Would you like to try sparring again? You're going down this time!" Riko said with a bright, cheerful grin. Kyle nodded.

"Sounds good! I promise I won't go so hard on you, this time…" Kyle said, feeling a little bit guilty about beating her so soundly last time.

"Oh, no! Don't you dare go easy on me! You do, you'll be beaten into the ground in five seconds flat!"

"Oh, you're on, girl!" Kyle shouted, pumping the air with his fist. The two went out to the backyard and faced off.

"Okay… On three… One… Two…" Riko began. Then together.

"Three!" They said at the same time. Kyle closed in on Riko, closing the gap between them in the blink of an eye. Riko leapt in the air, though, making a bunch of small strikes at Kyle that didn't really do any serious damage. However, he felt twinges of pain.

"Mm… Striking nerves and pressure points! Nice!" Kyle shouted, twisting and kicking where Riko had been just a tenth of a second before. Now, she was behind him once more, striking to the back of Kyle's head, sending him tumbling over himself. Kyle managed to right himself and launch himself in the air, increasing the amount of Rise he was using and striking Riko in the stomach. Riko gasped, but leapt back, minimizing the damage done to her.

Kyle laughed. Riko was really acrobatic. He was barely able to land a hit on her. He really needed to step up his game if he wanted to have a chance to win this. Normally, he would have used his aerokinetic constructs to shape the battlefield as he wanted it. But this was just a sparring match. Riko seemed to sense this, though.

"Come on! You're not going all out against me, you're gonna get your ass handed to you! Use your Burst, damnit!" Riko shouted, flipping through the air and sending a drawing bombs at the air around Kyle. They exploded into large clouds of smoke. Riko shot through the cloud, flipping in the air just as she was about to hit Kyle and kicked at the back of his head, stopping just before she hit.

"I win this time. Good match…" Riko said. Kyle laughed.

"Yeah! Good one… Rematch sometime?" Kyle asked. Riko nodded. "Why not now? We can keep going. It's still early afternoon." Riko replied.

"Yeah, but the rest of us hafta get going! We're meeting Ageha's and Amamiya's newborns today! Why don't you come, too?"

"Has it really been two months since I saw Ageha and Sakurako last?" Riko asked, hurrying out after the rest of the kids.

"Yo! Knock! Knock! Damnit!" Frederica shouted. Ageha was the one to answer the door, yawning as he stood back to let everyone in.

"Hey, Freddy… Marie… Shao… Kyle and… Van… Good to see you all. You here to meet the kids?" Ageha asked, smiling tiredly.

"Kids? You had twins?" Riko asked, smiling brightly.

"Yes… We had twins… Nana and Miroku…" Sakurako said, coming out to greet the guests. She had dark circles under her eyes as well. She looked just as exhausted as Ageha did. "Please, come in. Meet the dynamic duo…" Sakurako said, standing back. The Tenjuin kids and Riko came in and went into the nursery, where they saw the twins. The girl was the spitting image of Sakurako. The boy looked uncannily like Ageha.

The boy even had Ageha's eyes, that piercing stare that seemed to see through the lies of the world.

"They're already beginning to show some uncontrolled psionic abilities. Sometimes, when they get upset, things will explode spontaneously. We really need to watch them to make sure the house doesn't blow up. I think they haven't fully come into their powers yet, so… *YAWNNN*" Sakurako yawned. "So they're displaying a wide battery of powers until the powers that are truly theirs emerge.

"I've been… Studying metapsionics with Doctor Yoshina… And well… That's the going theory on infants with psionic powers… Their true powers should… Emerge sometime after their third birthday… Until then… They're poorly controlled and… often random in their effects…" Sakurako said, her eyes closing after her sentence as she slipped into a deep sleep in seconds.

"Hey, Sakurako-chan… Wake up… Why don't you get some sleep? I'll take care of the kids for a while…" Ageha said. Sakurako shook her head.

"Not a chance… You're just as tired as… I am…"

"We can take care of the kids for a while…" Riko said cheerfully, volunteering not only herself but the Tenjuin kids as well.

"Oh, no… I couldn't ask you to do that for us…" Sakurako muttered, her eyes closing again… Soon she was snoring, even standing on her feet.

"Please, I insist…" Riko said. "We can take care of Miroku and Nana for a few hours, right?" Riko asked, looking at the Tenjuin kids, who nodded. Marie seemed to be the quickest to agree. But Frederica nodded after Marie did, not wanting to seem uncharitable. The rest seemed pretty happy to help as well.

"Yeah… Go on, you two… Get some sleep…" Kyle said with a thumbs up. Ageha smiled.

"You don't have to tell me twice… I'm going to bed… You coming, Saku-chan?"

"Yes… And don't call me Saku-chan?" Sakurako said, kissing Ageha quickly and shuffling out to their room while the kids sat down and took to keeping an eye on the twins. It wasn't long before Nana started crying. Marie hurried over and checked her diaper.

"Mm… She's not dirty… Maybe she's hungry?"

"No… She just needs attention…" Shao said softly. Marie looked at Shao. He really was a wonder… He would make an incredible parent. He was able to tell what Nana needed just from looking at her from a distance. His Trance Psi was amazing.

"Thank you… Your Trance Psi is impressive…" Marie said, picking up Nana gently, rocking her in her arms. "There, there, Nana… It's alright…" Marie said, smiling soothingly at Nana, who cooed gently, yawning and falling back asleep.

"You'd be a good father, Shao…" Marie said with a cheerful smile, drawing a blush from Shao, whose feelings for Marie were well known by most of the kids. Only Marie seemed not to know.

"Mm… Thank you… Maybe I'll have the privilege of having children someday." Shao muttered. He on the other hand, knew of Marie's relationship with Frederica. He was happy for them, especially Frederica, who had pined after Marie for almost as long as Shao had been, but couldn't help feeling a bit of uncharacteristic jealousy.

"So… What do we do?" Riko asked, taking out her cell phone and opening up Pokémon Go on it.

"Oh, cool! You play Pokémon Go? What team are you?" Kyle asked excitedly.

"Instinct." Riko replied with an equally cheerful smile.

"Oh, darn. I'm Valor. It seemed to fit my personality… Though Instinct does fit your personality perfectly." Kyle said with a wink. "What level are you?" He asked. Riko laughed.

"I'm Level 39. I should hit 40 by the end of the week if I keep playing at the same rate as I've been… Though I haven't played in a little while since Junas-nii dumped me on your doorstep."

"Maybe we could go raiding together, eh, Freddy? You're Team Valor too, right?"

"Yes… And call me Freddy again and we'll be serving you up for dinner char broiled!" Frederica whispered angrily. Kyle nodded.

"We all started playing Pokémon Go around the same time. I wanted the whole family to join Team Valor. But Frederica and I joined Valor, Marie and Shao joined Instinct and Van joined Mystic. Well, we still go raiding together… When you're doing a Raid, it doesn't matter if you're on the same team, yeah?" Kyle asked. "You wanna come raiding with us sometime?"

"I would love to come raiding with you. Maybe we can bring Junas-nii with us… He plays Pokémon Go." Riko said to disbelieving stares from the rest of the kids.

"What? Junas-nii started playing around the same time that I did. He's Team Instinct, too… I think he would've been a better Team Valor, though. I kinda had to prod and push him to start playing. He got hooked, though, and now we play together a lot of the time.

"We take over gyms all over Tokyo."

"What's your Avatar name?" Kyle asked, excited that he had something in common with Riko.

"Riko-chan2002… Junas-nii chose it." Riko said with a giggle. It hadn't been terribly creative. He hadn't really been trying. He just merged 'Riko-chan' and the year of her birth. She was a little ashamed to say that she had openly laughed at his uncreative Avatar name for her.

"What's Junas' Avatar's name?" Kyle asked.

"VorpalMaster1989. He's level 37. He's not as avid a player as I am, but he goes along because I push him to." Riko said. Junas had grimaced at the name, but he put it in because Riko had chosen it for him.

"Mm… It suits him. What is a vorpal master?"

"The Vorpal Sword was the sword in Through the Looking Glass that cut off the Jabberwocky's head. Since then, Vorpal has been associated with decapitation, and especially with swords. I believe I've seen your Avatars. You and Junas are almost always in the same gyms, right next to each other." Shao said. Riko nodded. "Well, we used to. We haven't since he left me with you a few days ago.

"We used to dedicate at least an hour to walking around the city, gathering supplies, tapping Pokéstops and catching Pokémon. Lately, he hasn't been coming with me. It's kind of a bummer, having to Pokéwalk all on my own. Hey! A Volbeat! I need that one!" Riko said, still whispering, and curveballing the Volbeat, getting a Great Throw and catching it on the first throw. Kyle watched her accuracy, impressed by her skill.

He had been practicing with his throws for a long time, and even he wasn't that good. The group all got out their phones and began to play Go. Occasionally, one of them got up to take care of the kids who got restless. Usually it was Marie, who had the best way with the children. Shao would voice his insights into what they needed and Marie would take care of it. One time, Frederica tried to rock the kids back to sleep, but they just got upset and started crying.

Marie rushed over and took them both in her arms and rocked them back to sleep. After about six hours, Ageha and Sakurako walked back out into the kitchen, looking much better rested than they had before. Sakurako smiled gratefully at the children, who stood up and walked over to them.

"Hey, they didn't give you much trouble, did they?" Sakurako asked.

"I was using a low-level Trance to calm the children while we watched them. Closer to an empathic connection than actual telepathy." Shao said quietly. "They stayed asleep for most of the time we were here." Amamiya smiled.

"Thank you. You really did a big favor for us today."

"Any time you need us, just call. Schools out for the summer. It won't be back in session for another few weeks. I know you guys can handle staying awake for a long time, but please don't hesitate to ask us to babysit for a bit." Riko said. Marie nodded. The others didn't say anything against it, so Riko assumed that they were in. Sakurako smiled, hugging Riko.

"Thank you, that's really nice of you. Maybe we'll call on you every once in a while." Ageha said with a laugh.

"Why don't you all stay for dinner? It's getting well into the evening. You must be hungry… Unfortunately, we only have instant curry." Sakurako said. Kyle's eyes widened excitedly.

"I love curry!" he said, sitting down at the kitchen table.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

"Unfortunately, we have to get going. Mom will be worrying about us… Maybe another time." Marie said, pulling Kyle along, her grip much stronger than Kyle remembered.

"Alright… Well, next time for sure, then." Ageha said, high fiving Kyle and seeing the kids out. As they left, Sakurako called Riko back, whispering to her.

"Are you doing alright? I heard about what happened between you and Junas… He said he really misses you." She said. Riko nodded, a tear falling.

"Oh, I'll be fine. Junas-nii will come back to get me eventually. Until then, I have good friends in the Tenjuin kids. We can all play Pokémon Go together. We're not on the same team, but we can still raid together." Riko said with a weak smile, hurrying out after the Tenjuin kids.

As they walked home, they started playing Pokémon Go, taking a few detours to capture various gyms and tap some Pokéstops.

"So, who should we give this gym to? We're all beating it together." Frederica asked.

"The game gives the gym to the person who deals the final blow that knocks the final pokemon out of the gym.

"The gym was Mystic before. We'll just have to finish beating it first, yeah?" Riko asked. Frederica nodded.

"Yeah… That's the way it works. Instinct has too few gyms."

"No. Team Instinct has too few members in Tokyo. We still manage. I can hold onto a gym for 24 hours. And with the new gym system, that's all it's worth holding onto it for." Riko said.

"So… Which team should take this gym? It's Mystic right now. I could take it and Kyle could add his Pokémon to it, or you could take it and Marie and Shao could add their Pokémon to it."

"How about Rock-Paper-Scissors?" Riko asked. Frederica narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, but no using your Trance to read my mind so you can win. 2 out of 3?" Frederica suggested.

"Deal. Okay, one, two, three, shoot! Rock."

"Paper." Riko replied.

"Alright. One, two, three, shoot! Scissors."

"Paper. You win. One more. Riko said. "Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Riko said. "Paper."

"Rock. Fine, you win. Team Instinct can take the gym in the end."

"Okay… But that's not the way it works. The member who makes the final killing blow against the previous gym gets to put their Pokémon in first if they want to." Riko said with a laugh. Frederica's eyes widened. "Then why the hell did we play Rock-Paper-Scissors!" She demanded angrily.

"I thought we were just having fun!" Riko laughed, doubled over now with a fit of giggles.

"Riko-chan?" Came a voice. Riko's head snapped around.

"Junas-nii…" She gasped, tears filling her chocolate brown eyes.

"Junas-nii! Why did you… I… Team Valor can take the gym. I can't be here right now!"

"Riko-chan… Wait… Please." Junas said. "It's not you. I didn't leave you with the Tenjuin Family because of anything you did. I promise." He said. Riko stopped, staring at Junas.

"Then why?"

"Because I wasn't ready. I love you, Riko… But I don't trust myself right now. I'm not good enough for you. I love you, and I was jealous when you and Lucy were together, but secretly, I think I was hoping that you would truly fall in love with her or someone else so that I would never have to face the prospect that you were better than I deserved.

"It's one thing to hold my temper back, to run a martial arts school and even live with you. It's another thing entirely to be in such an intense relationship with you."

"I… Didn't think it was that intense…" Riko muttered. "Did I come on too strong?" She asked. Junas sighed, looking away from Riko.

"It might not have actually been that intense. But it was intense for me. It was intense for someone who had never had feelings that strong for anyone in my life. I would kill or die for you, Riko-chan. I would go to the ends of the earth to provide for you. But I wasn't ready for that kind of attachment. You have a good family right now. Elmore and her children… They're good for you… Better than I can be… Riko… You're an amazing person… You've made me a better person…

"Maybe after you graduate, we can be together. I promise to give you an answer, one way or the other… Once you turn eighteen. Until then, I can't make any promises because I can't promise you that I can give you a healthy relationship. I hope that you understand. If not, I understand. I led you on. That wasn't fair of me… But…" Junas began. He was cut off by Riko.

"Junas-nii… I understand. I love you, too, and I… appreciate your honesty. I hope that someday you'll stop fighting your feelings… But until then, I'll be supporting you from a distance. Won't you at least join us in taking this gym today, though?" Riko asked. Junas smiled. It was unusual to see him smile.

"I'd be happy to. I've been playing hard. I'm up to Level 37 now."

"Wow! That's great, Junas-nii! Hurry up and start preparing your Pokémon!" Riko said, signing into the gym and looking around. Everyone was preparing their lineup to take down the gym… Well, except Van, who was tapping the Pokéstop on the gym and who was giving Golden Razzberries to all the Pokémon, smirking at the rest who laughed at his antics. Van had one of his own Pokemon in the gym, a 100% IV Blissey at full CP. Blissey was usually his go-to because it was slow to go down.

He had powered it up to its top CP potential for his level and since he was level 39 that was pretty damn high. Finally, they all began fighting, looking at each other as they unloaded their Charged Moves and as some of they switched their Pokémon out for the next one. After about seven minutes, they knocked out the gym as Riko made the final move that took down the final Pokémon holding it. The young woman grinned, celebrating quietly and putting her own 100% IV full CP Shiny Gyarados into the gym.

She had worked a long time to find a shiny Magikarp, and had been working hard on the Mew research. Just the other day, she had finally succeeded in catching the Mew and it turned out to be a 90% IV. Riko couldn't deny that she had been one of those lucky players who frequently caught powerful Pokémon. Whether it was just a fluke or if she simply instinctively knew where to look was a mystery to her, but she had caught a 95% IV Mewtwo in an EX Raid once.

"Alright… Shao, Marie, Junas-nii… Put your Pokémon in as well… Then we're done with this gym… Don't forget to tap the Pokéstop on it… After you've put your Pokémon in… C'mon, Junas-nii… You've played this game long enough to know that." Riko said, shaking her finger playfully at Junas, who blushed. Of all the things he had to think about, when to put his Pokémon in the gym in relation to when he tapped the Pokéstop was pretty low on the list.

"Alright… Well, we've put our Pokémon in the gym… And I'm only a few thousand XP away from level 38. I guess I'll go on my own Pokéwalk for a while… Get the last few thousand and get up to level 38 tonight… I would love to Pokéwalk with you, but if I did, I'm afraid I would beg you to come home… My apartment feels terribly empty without you." Junas sighed, turning to leave.

"Junas-nii… If you won't beg me not to leave, I'm not too proud to beg you. Please… I love you, Juu-nii…" Riko asked, her eyes beginning to shimmer slightly with tears. Junas' willpower seemed to waver for a moment. Shao watched as Junas' eyes went from determined to say no to uncertain in the period of less than a second. Riko really had a lot of influence over him. He was really in love with her, and clearly, she was in love with him as well.

He observed quietly, not saying anything as Junas worked to make a decision. Shao could feel the turbulent emotions in Junas' heart. Junas had been hesitant to even stop when he saw Riko. Now, though that he had spent time talking to and working together with Riko again, he wasn't so sure. It was interesting in a way to see the process of Junas' incredible willpower fighting the overwhelming power of his love for Riko. It was sad though to see him so conflicted over being in love.

Riko was in no hurry to force Junas to come to a conclusion. She knew it was something he had to do on his own. She sighed.

"Alright, Junas-nii… Maybe I'll run into you again sometime." She said, turning and heading away from the spot with the rest of the Tenjuin kids. Junas gasped, reaching out to stop her. But he caught himself, sighing with depression as he trudged back to his apartment.

He hadn't been eating well lately. It was hard to find an excuse to eat without Riko there. She usually made dinner. She was excellent at cooking and she made amazing meals. Now, he just bought microwave dinners and ate in front of the television if he ate at all. Sometimes, he would go out for walks that lasted most of the night just to keep his mind off of Riko…

Running into her like he just did was bad… Now, he wouldn't be able to sleep. It wasn't her fault. But he wished he could just beg her to move back in or forget about her. One or the other. But forcing himself to live without her only to see her right in front of him and knowing that he couldn't have her back was torture… But why couldn't he have her back? She clearly still had feelings for him. She said it herself. She wasn't too proud to ask him to live with her again.

Was it just pride that kept him from asking her to come back? Maybe he just couldn't admit that he was in love. He knew that he was. He talked about it with Doctor Nishimiya. But it was difficult to wrap his head around… Was his head in the way? The most dangerous terrorist in the world, Amagi Miroku had fallen in love and now had two children with his wife. Why couldn't Junas fall in love? Was it something that was fine for others but not for him?

Yes. He needed Riko back in his life. There was no more reason to chase her away. Junas suddenly felt a renewed purpose, and he ran toward Elmore Tenjuin's house at full speed, jumping up on buildings so that he could take a straight line there.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

"Hello… You must be Junas…" Elmore said. Junas looked down at the diminutive woman.

"Yes… You remember me?" He asked.

"Yes… But Riko spoke of you frequently. The children aren't back yet. If you'd like to wait, they should be back soon. Know that if you come in, you'll be making the tea."

"Yes, ma'am…" Junas said, bowing politely, taking his shoes off and entering, going straight to the kitchen and putting some water on to boil.

"Where are the leaves, Tenjuin-san?" Junas asked. Elmore rolled out to the sitting room.

"The cabinet right above you, young man." She replied. Junas looked up.

"Any specific kind of tea you prefer?" He asked. He wasn't used to being a servant, but first, if he wanted to see Riko again, he needed to swallow his pride, anyway, and second… She didn't seem the kind of woman that you trifled with. He had great skill in Burst and Rise, but she could probably demolish him in a second with Trance, reduce him to a gibbering wreck with a mere glance.

"Surprise me… My children know what kind of tea I usually drink so it's never a surprise. Choose any… Mix and match if you prefer. In my old age, nothing much can hurt me, I guess." Elmore said. Junas nodded, taking some chocolate tea, mixing it with mint leaves and raspberry leaves. He wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. But he would like that mixture. Maybe Elmore would as well. Elmore figured that the worst that would happen is that she got a mouthful of bad tea.

Junas looked through all the other teas and decided not to use any other than raspberry, mint and chocolate and mixed a generous amount of each into the teabag, putting the boxes of loose tea leaves away and going through cupboards, eventually finding some cups, taking one down and setting it on a saucer. He had no interest in presentation. All he was doing was making tea.

"The children will be home in less than ten minutes! Make enough for all of us!" Elmore demanded. Junas nodded. As long as he was there, he may as well work, he figured. He took down the tea cups and mixed more tea leaves, portioning them out between one for Riko…"

"How many children do you have, Tenjuin-san?"

"Please, call me Elmore… I have five children, and Riko-chan makes six. Make one for yourself as well. Whatever you're making the children will drink." Elmore said. Junas nodded. How exactly had she turned him into her servant like this? Either way, it didn't really matter. He was there anyway. He might as well work. The pot began to boil and he poured the tea into a tea kettle, steeping the tea leaves and bringing out to Elmore, pouring the tea from the kettle into her cup.

Elmore took a deep breath, smiling.

"It smells good. Chocolate, mint and… Raspberries?" She asked. Junas nodded.

"It tastes good… Please, sit down." Junas sat down across from her just as the children walked in the door. Elmore called out to them.

"Please, come in. Sit down, children… We have a guest." She said. The kids, including Riko removed their shoes and filed in. As Riko got into the room, she gasped, her grip on her phone loosening and dropping it. Kyle grabbed it before it hit the floor.

"Careful… You don't wanna break your phone, right?" He asked. Riko nodded numbly, staggering into the room and sitting down as far from Junas as she could without being rude.

"J-Junas… What… Are you doing… Here? I-I mean, it's good to see you, but…"

"Relax, Riko-chan… I'm here to take you home… If you'll have me back after the way I treated you. I'm sorry I abandoned you like I did… I just… You changed me more in the past few months than my therapist managed to do in six years. I was no longer sure of my priorities… And I didn't want to lead you on in a relationship that I couldn't maintain… I…"

"Junas-nii… You don't need to say anything else… I understand."

"You… You do?" He asked. He clearly didn't expect her to understand so quickly.

"Yes… And there's no need to apologize. You did what you needed to do… Were you able to sort out your priorities?" Riko asked. Junas sighed.

"I'm still not sure of everything… But I am sure that I love you." Junas said. Our apartment just hasn't been the same without you."

"Wow… You've really thought about this speech, haven't you?"

"Yeah, for like the whole ten minute mad dash to Elmore Wood. I know I'm not good enough for you… You don't have to be in a relationship with me again, but if you'll at least come back to the apartment. It's too big for just me. I hear my voice echoing in there without you."

"Ahaha! I can't wait to come back. Just let me pack up my stuff…" Riko said. Frederica and Marie stood as well, following Riko up to help her pack while Kyle, Shao and Van stayed to talk to Junas.

"So… You finally came to your senses, yeah? Finally realized just how amazing Riko-chan is?" Kyle asked, seeming entirely unamused by Junas' speech.

"I always knew how amazing Riko is… I'm just not good enough for her." Junas growled, his eyes narrowing and his aura sharpening as though he was getting ready to have a fight with Kyle.

"But you're hoping that she'll settle for you, right?"

"No… I'm hoping that one day maybe I will be good enough for her. I'm sure I never will be, but I guess there's no harm in trying, right?" Junas asked. Van laughed.

"I dunno… You seem like a pretty fun guy! I bet Riko-chan is pretty lucky to have you!"

"I'm lucky to have someone who so willingly bears the burden of having me." Junas muttered. Elmore's eyes widened slightly. She thought she finally understood Junas' true burden.

"When you peel away the layers of rage and contempt, you're actually depressed, aren't you… Mr. Junas?" Elmore asked. Junas sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't have the luxury of being depressed. And what do you mean 'peel away the layers of rage'? I'm not angry and you're some of the few people that I don't have contempt for."

"That's what I mean… Your time in the Grigori Project warped your mind. Now that you're a normal person, you're beginning to face the problems that real people deal with on a daily basis. Interacting with the world, worrying about whether they're adequate or not.

"If you'll allow me access to your mind, I'll gladly see if there's anything I can do. I'm no therapist, but my skill in Trance is amongst the greatest in the world. I'm told that my mind is classified as a weapon of mass destruction. If I were to go senile and start losing control of my Trance, I have no doubt that the government would kill me instead of risking the damage my mind could do to the world." Elmore said with a humorless chuckle.

"You're like Charles Xavier!" Riko said cheerfully. Kyle, Van and Frederica laughed, though the rest seemed to find it distinctly less funny.

"Who is Charles Xavier, dear?" Elmore asked. Riko grinned.

"He's the leader of the X-Men. His telepathy is amongst the most powerful in the Marvel Universe, exceeded only by Jean Grey and possibly a few other people.

"His mind was classified as a weapon of mass destruction, and eventually, when his mind started to go due to Alzheimer's, there were people out hunting for him because his mind was too dangerous to allow to live when he was having seizures and releasing massive waves of mentally destructive power that could kill thousands." Riko said. Elmore nodded.

"Alright… Well I appreciate you making this interesting mix of tea, Junas… Perhaps you would care to join us for tea again soon. I'm certain that my children would enjoy seeing Riko again." Elmore said. Junas nodded. "Of course we'll join you again. You were going to enter my mind? I don't have a problem with it. Watch where you travel, though." Junas said. Elmore nodded, closing her eyes and touching Junas' forehead, taking a breath in and going inward toward his mind.

"Guilt… Fear… Anger… You have so many negative emotions… You're afraid of hurting Riko-chan, that your relationship with her is unhealthy. But you are happy with her. Fear is a common reaction to an uncertain situation. You fear losing her, but you fear hurting her even more. Your jealousy of her attention to others… You've done well to keep your anger and jealousy under control."

"Control is vital for someone with power as great as mine." Junas said. Elmore nodded.

"It certainly is. I can see that your powers could easily destroy entire cities. I am seeing the true extent of your powers. Even my children would have difficulty defeating you if you and Riko joined forces in combat. I have seen the extent of her powers as well. Take a deep breath, you are going to feel a powerful jolt in your mind. I'm not attacking you. Look into my mind through the link and see that I am being truthful." Elmore whispered. Junas used the link that Elmore had made to look backwards.

He saw that she was not lying. She had no intention of harming him. He sighed and relaxed his mind. It was a strange feeling that washed over his mind. He suddenly felt calm and peaceful.

"My therapist says I'm doing much better… But you were able to heal me so quickly. Is this going to be permanent?" Junas asked. Elmore laughed.

"No… Your worries will come back. This was just to show you what you could be like. I imagine that a few hours from now, you'll start noticing your worries coming back. I can't take them away without risking damaging your brain. Rise or not, my powers aren't godlike. I suggest meditation. You can meditate with my children and Riko if you like. Shao taught Riko-chan some techniques for calming the mind and looking inward." Elmore said. Shao nodded silently.

"Thank you for taking such good care of Riko-chan… You did more for me… And for her than I could possibly have asked." Junas said, seeming ashamed of his lapse in ability to handle Riko.

"You don't need to thank us. It was our pleasure to have her. She did more for me than I did for her anyways." Frederica said. Junas nodded.

"Are you ready to go home, Riko-chan?" Junas asked as Riko rejoined them in the living room with her suitcase. Riko nodded happily.

"I can't wait to be home again… How much of a mess is the apartment?" Riko asked chidingly. Junas laughed.

"Well… It's hardly as spotless as it was when you left. You were always the one who was good at cleaning." He said, seeming amused by this.

"Well… We'll get everything back in order when we get home… Then maybe just a movie?" She asked. Junas nodded. Such a simple request. How could he deny her that? Besides, it seemed like fun.

"What movie did you have in mind?"

"Something old… How about the original Dracula with Bela Lugosi? We can watch it. Then we need to top off the classic movie with something gross… How about Cannibal Holocaust?" Riko asked. Junas actually laughed at this, nodding his head.

"That sounds like fun. We'll make microwave popcorn for dinner and just have a movie night." He said. Riko was a bit surprised at how happy he seemed. Had Elmore done something?

She looked at the elderly woman, who winked at her, transmitting a brief image of her entering Junas' mind and doing some brief tampering.

"Tenjuin-san did something to your brain, didn't she?" Riko asked, scowling. Junas sighed.

"Well… She tampered a little bit… Just to relax me a bit and make me less depressed."

"I didn't know you were depressed! I thought I knew everything about you, Junas-nii! Why didn't you tell me?" Riko demanded as Junas picked up Riko's suitcase in one hand and lifted Riko up in his other arm as though she weighed no more than a small puppy. She may have been fairly short, and light, but he made it seem like she weighed nothing, carrying her as easily as if he was unburdened.

"I didn't want to upset you. I've already burdened you with taking care of me. You're already dragged down by your relationship with me. I didn't want you to think I was unsatisfied on top of that."

"WHAT!" Riko demanded angrily. "How could you even think I felt like that! What on earth gave you the impression that I felt burdened by you! Is that why you ditched me here!"

"Hey! Way to make us feel appreciated!" Kyle joked.

"SHUT UP!" Riko snapped rather savagely. Kyle shut his mouth immediately. "Junas-nii! Did you really think I felt like you were dragging me down? And if you did, why didn't you _talk to me_ about it?" Riko asked, seeming hurt by Junas' assumptions.

"Riko-chan… I know you _didn't_ feel burdened by me. I knew you were happy with me… But I've never felt like I was good enough for you." Junas said as they closed the door and walked toward the gate to Elmore's property. "But I just am not used to talking about things. They encouraged us to talk to the psychologist at Grigori, but nothing changed, so I figured they didn't care about what we thought. I retreated inward and I didn't talk to anyone for years.

"I guess I didn't even consider talking about my insecurities. I'm sure we could have come to a better conclusion if I had. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's alright, Junas-nii… We'll work on anything you're not sure about. And so you know, I've never felt burdened by you, and I've always thought you were good enough for me." Riko almost immediately changed her tone, though, seeming excited.

"Let's watch Dracula and be awed by the artistry of classical cinematography, then be sickened and laugh at the grotesque and tasteless gore of an exploitation B-Movie." She said. Junas nodded, taking her back to their apartment.


End file.
